What happened on April 1? There are more than 336 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About April 1
April 1 is the 92nd day of the year 2024. There are 274 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday. This day falls under the 14th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Saginaw, Michigan 48607 sunrise occured at 07:14 AM and sunset occured at 08:04 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aries. The modern birthstone for this month is Diamond while the mystical birthstone is Opal.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 303 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 18 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
April 1: A Day In History
April 1 is most notable in many countries for being April Fools’ Day.
Historical Events For April 1
- 286Emperor Diocletian elevates his general Maximian to co-emperor with the rank of Augustus and gives him control over the Western regions of the Roman Empire.
- 325Crown Prince Jin Chengdi, age 4, succeeds his father Jin Mingdi as emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
- 527Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
- 1293Robert Winchelsey leaves England for Rome, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
- 1318Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by the Scottish from England.
- 1340Niels Ebbesen kills Gerhard III of Holstein in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 interregnum in Denmark.
- 1572In the Eighty Years’ War, the Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Spaniards, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.
- 1789In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker.
- 1826Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine.
- 1833The Convention of 1833, a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas to help draft a series of petitions to the Mexican government, begins in San Felipe de Austin
- 1854Hard Times begins serialisation in Charles Dickens’ magazine, Household Words.
- 1865American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks – In Siege of Petersburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.
- 1867Singapore becomes a British crown colony.
- 1871The first stage of the Brill Tramway opened.
- 1873The British steamer RMS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547.
- 1887Mumbai Fire Brigade is established.
- 1891The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1893The rank of Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy is established.
- 1908The Territorial Force (renamed Territorial Army in 1920) is formed as a volunteer reserve component of the British Army.
- 1918The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
- 1919The Staatliches Bauhaus school was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar.
- 1922Six Irish Catholic civilians are shot and beaten-to-death by a gang of policemen in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1924Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the “Beer Hall Putsch”. However, he spends only nine months in jail, during which he writes Mein Kampf.
- 1924The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.
- 1933English cricketer Wally Hammond set a record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out, during a Test match against New Zealand.
- 1933The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.
- 1936Orissa formerly known as Kalinga or Utkal becomes a state in India.
- 1937Aden becomes a British crown colony. Bombing of Jaén, Spain by Nazi forces.
- 1939Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.
- 1941A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of 'Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali as Prime Minister.
- 1941The Blockade Runner Badge for the German navy is instituted.
- 1944Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.
- 1945World War II: Operation Iceberg – United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.
- 1946Aleutian Island earthquake: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands creates a tsunami that strikes the Hawaiian Islands killing 159, mostly in Hilo.
- 1946Formation of the Malayan Union.
- 1947Paul becomes king of Greece, on the death of his childless elder brother, George II.
- 1948Cold War: Berlin Airlift– Military forces, under direction of the Russian-controlled government in East Germany, set-up a land blockade of West Berlin.
- 1948Faroe Islands receive autonomy from Denmark.
- 1949Chinese Civil War: The Communist Party of China holds unsuccessful peace talks with the Kuomintang in Beijing, after three years of fighting.
- 1949The 26 counties of the Irish Free State become the Republic of Ireland.
- 1949The Canadian government repeals Japanese Canadian internment after seven years.
- 1954President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
- 1955The EOKA rebellion against The British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of obtaining the desired unification (“enosis”) with Greece.
- 1957The BBC broadcasts the spaghetti tree hoax on its current affairs programme Panorama.
- 1959Iakovos is enthroned as Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America.
- 1960The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.
- 1967The United States Department of Transportation begins operation.
- 1969The Hawker Siddeley Harrier enters service with the Royal Air Force.
- 1970President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General’s warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertisements on television and radio in the United States, starting on January 1, 1971.
- 1971Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacred over 1,000 people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.
- 1973Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Corbett National Park, India.
- 1974In the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties come into being.
- 1976Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
- 1976Conrail takes over operations from six bankrupt railroads in the Northeastern U.S.
- 1976The Jovian–Plutonian gravitational effect hoax is first reported by British astronomer Patrick Moore.
- 1978The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, becomes the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
- 1979Iran becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.
- 1989Margaret Thatcher’s new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the “poll tax”), is introduced in Scotland.
- 1992Start of the Bosnian war.
- 1997Comet Hale-Bopp is seen passing over perihelion.
- 1999Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.
- 2001An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, People’s Republic of China and is detained.
- 2001Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.
- 2001Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first country to allow it.
- 2006The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the “British FBI”, is created in the United Kingdom.
- 2009Croatia and Albania join NATO.
- 2011After protests against the burning of the Quran turned violent, a mob attacked a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan and killed thirteen people, including eight foreign workers.
Who Were Born On April 1?
- 1220Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (d. 1272)
- 1543François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (d. 1626)
- 1578William Harvey, English physician (d. 1657)
- 1610Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier (d. 1703)
- 1640Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician (d. 1697)
- 1647John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet (d. 1680)
- 1697Antoine François Prévost, French author and novelist (d. 1763)
- 1753Joseph de Maistre, French diplomat and writer (d. 1821)
- 1765Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver (d. 1810)
- 1776Sophie Germain, French mathematician (d. 1831)
- 1815Edward Clark, American politician (d. 1880)
- 1815Otto von Bismarck, German statesman (d. 1898)
- 1834James “Big Jim” Fisk, American entrepreneur (d. 1872)
- 1854Bill Traylor, American artist (d. 1949)
- 1856Acacio Gabriel Viegas, Indian physician (d. 1933)
- 1865Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
- 1866Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1924)
- 1868Edmond Rostand, French dramatist (d. 1918)
- 1873Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor (d. 1943)
- 1874Ernest William Barnes, English mathematician and theologian (d. 1953)
- 1875Edgar Wallace, English writer (d. 1932)
- 1880Agha Petros, Assyrian general (d. 1932)
- 1882Paul Anspach, Belgian fencer (d. 1991)
- 1883Lon Chaney, Sr., American actor (d. 1930)
- 1884Laurette Taylor, American stage actress (d. 1946)
- 1885Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)
- 1887H. S. Lloyd, British dog breeder (d. 1963)
- 1889K. B. Hedgewar, Indian physician and Hindu nationalism advocate (d. 1940)
- 1893Cicely Courtneidge, English actress and comedian (d. 1980)
- 1895Alberta Hunter, American singer (d. 1984)
- 1897Nita Naldi, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1898William James Sidis, American mathematician and child prodigy (d. 1944)
- 1899Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (d. 1968)
- 1901Whittaker Chambers, American writer, editor, and defector (d. 1961)
- 1902Maria Polydouri, Greek poet (d. 1930)
- 1906Aleksandr Yakovlev, Russian engineer and aeroplane designer (d. 1989)
- 1908Abraham Maslow, American psychologist (d. 1970)
- 1909Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1951)
- 1911Fauja Singh, Indian athlete
- 1912Donald Nyrop, American airline executive (d. 2010)
- 1913Memos Makris, Greek sculptor (d. 1993)
- 1914Lor Tok, Thai comedian and actor (d. 2002)
- 1915Otto Wilhelm Fischer, Austrian actor (d. 2004)
- 1917Melville Shavelson, American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2007)
- 1919Joseph Murray, American surgeon, Nobel laureate
- 1920Toshirō Mifune, Japanese actor (d. 1997)
- 1921Ken Reardon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
- 1922William Manchester, American historian (d. 2004)
- 1924Brendan Byrne, American politician
- 1924Miodrag Petrović, Serbian actor (d. 2003)
- 1926Anne McCaffrey, American author (d. 2011)
- 1926Charles Bressler, American tenor
- 1926John Scott Martin, English actor (d. 2009)
- 1927Amos Milburn, American pianist (d. 1980)
- 1927Peter Cundall, Australian horticulturist
- 1927Walter Bahr, American footballer
- 1928George Grizzard, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1929Bo Schembechler, American football coach (d. 2006)
- 1929Jane Powell, American dancer, actress, and singer
- 1929Milan Kundera, Czech writer
- 1929Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator (d. 2010)
- 1930Grace Lee Whitney, American actress
- 1931Ita Ever, Estonian actress
- 1931Rolf Hochhuth, German writer
- 1932Debbie Reynolds, American actress
- 1932Gordon Jump, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1933Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, French physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1933Dan Flavin, American artist (d. 1996)
- 1934Don Hastings, American actor
- 1934Rod Kanehl, American baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1934Vladimir Posner, Russian journalist
- 1935Larry McDonald, American politician (d. 1983)
- 1936Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistani nuclear scientist
- 1936Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, Swiss politician (d. 1998)
- 1937Jordan Charney, American actor
- 1937Yılmaz Güney, Turkish actor, film director (d. 1984)
- 1938John Quade, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1939Ali MacGraw, American actress
- 1939Phil Niekro, American baseball player
- 1939Rudolph Isley, American singer
- 1940Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2011)
- 1941Ajit Wadekar, Indian cricketer
- 1942Annie Nightingale, British disc jockey
- 1942Samuel R. Delany, American author
- 1943Carol White, British actress (d. 1991)
- 1944Rusty Staub, American baseball player
- 1945John Barbata, American drummer
- 1946Arrigo Sacchi, Italian football coach
- 1946Eva Polttila, Finnish news broadcaster
- 1946Nikitas Kaklamanis, Greek politician
- 1946Ronnie Lane, English musician (d. 1997)
- 1947Alain Connes, French mathematician
- 1947Norm Van Lier, American basketball player (d. 2009)
- 1947Robin Scott, English singer
- 1948Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican musician
- 1949Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman
- 1949Gil Scott-Heron, American musician and composer (d. 2011)
- 1949Sammy Nelson, Northern Irish footballer
- 1950Loris Kessel, Swiss racing driver (d. 2010)
- 1950Samuel Alito, American lawyer and jurist
- 1951John Philip Abizaid, American army general
- 1952Annette O'Toole, American actress
- 1952Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher
- 1953Barry Sonnenfeld, producer and director
- 1954Jeff Porcaro, American drummer (d. 1992)
- 1955Humayun Akhtar Khan, Pakistani statesman
- 1955Terry Nichols, American mass murderer
- 1957David Gower, English cricketer
- 1957Denise Nickerson, American actress
- 1958D. Boon, American musician (d. 1985)
- 1959Margita Stefanović, Yugoslav architect and musician (d. 2002)
- 1960Michael Praed, British actor
- 1961Susan Boyle, Scottish singer and Britain’s Got Talent contestant
- 1962Phillip Schofield, British television presenter
- 1962Samboy Lim, Filipino basketball player
- 1963Teddy Diaz, Filipino rock guitarist (The Dawn) (d.1988)
- 1964Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1964Kevin Duckworth, American basketball player (d. 2008)
- 1964Scott Stevens, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965Mark Jackson, American basketball player
- 1965Robert Steadman, English composer
- 1965Tomas Alfredson, Swedish film director
- 1966Chris Evans, English disc jockey
- 1967Phil Demmel, American musician
- 1968Andreas Schnaas, German horror film director
- 1968Julia Boutros, Lebanese singer
- 1968Traci Lind, American actress
- 1969Dean Windass, English football player
- 1969Fadl Shaker, Lebanese singer
- 1970Sung Hi Lee, Korean-born model
- 1971Jessica Collins, American actress
- 1971Lachy Hulme, Australian actor and screenwriter
- 1971Method Man, American rapper
- 1971Shinji Nakano, Japanese race car driver
- 1971Sonia Bisset, Cuban javelin thrower
- 1972Albert Hughes, American film director
- 1972Allen Hughes, American film director
- 1972Darren McCarty, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972Jesse Tobias, American musician
- 1973Christian Finnegan, American comedian
- 1973Joe Francis, American adult video producer
- 1973Kris Marshall, British actor
- 1973Rachel Maddow, American radio personality and political analyst
- 1973Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricketer
- 1974Beatriz Batarda, Portuguese actress
- 1974China Chow, British actress
- 1974Hugo Benjamín Ibarra, Argentine footballer
- 1974Richard Christy, American drummer
- 1974Sandra Völker, German swimmer
- 1975George Bastl, Swiss tennis player
- 1975John Butler, Australian singer and musician
- 1976Clarence Seedorf, Dutch footballer
- 1976David Oyelowo, English-Nigerian actor
- 1977Haimar Zubeldia, Spanish cyclist
- 1977Jon Gosselin, American TV personality
- 1978Anamaria Marinca, Romanian actress
- 1978Antonio de Nigris, Mexican footballer (d. 2009)
- 1978Etan Thomas, American basketball player
- 1978Jean-Pierre Dumont, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978Miroslava Vavrinec, Swiss tennis player
- 1979Ivano Balić, Croatian handballer
- 1980Bijou Phillips, American actress
- 1980Dennis Kruppke, German footballer
- 1980Randy Orton, American professional wrestler
- 1980Yūko Takeuchi, Japanese actress
- 1981Aimee Chan, Miss Hong Kong 2006
- 1981Antonis Fotsis, Greek basketball player
- 1981Asli Bayram, Turkish-born German model and actress
- 1981Bjoern Einar Romoeren, Norwegian skijumper
- 1981Hannah Spearritt, British singer and actor
- 1982Sam Huntington, American actor
- 1982Taran Killam, American comedian and actor
- 1983Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, Icelandic footballer
- 1983John Axford, Canadian baseball pitcher
- 1983Jussi Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1983Lance Hohaia, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983Matt Lanter, American actor and model
- 1983Sean Taylor, American football player (d. 2007)
- 1983Sergey Lazarev, Russian singer
- 1983Tamati Ellison, New Zealand rugby player
- 1984Gilberto Macena, Brazilian footballer
- 1985Daniel Murphy, American baseball player
- 1985Josh Zuckerman, American actor
- 1986Ireen Wüst, Dutch speed skater
- 1986Shunichi Miyamoto, Japanese musician
- 1987Ding Junhui, Chinese snooker player
- 1987Gianluca Musacci, Italian footballer
- 1987Li Ting, Chinese diver
- 1987Oliver Turvey, British racing driver
- 1988Brook Lopez, American basketball player
- 1988Courtney McCool, American gymnast
- 1988Robin Lopez, American basketball player
- 1989David N'Gog, French footballer
- 1989Jan Blokhuijsen, Dutch speed skater
- 1989Vietoris Krisztián, German racing driver
- 1993Keito Okamoto, Japanese singer
- 1997Asa Butterfield, English actor
Who Died On April 1?
- 1085Emperor Shenzong of Song China (b. 1048)
- 1132St. Hugues, Bishop of Grenoble (b. 1053)
- 1204Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of Richard I of England and John of England (b. 1122)
- 1205King Amalric II of Jerusalem (b. 1145)
- 1528Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer
- 1580Alonso Mudarra, Spanish composer
- 1621Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (b. 1577)
- 1637Niwa Nagashige, Japanese warlord (b. 1571)
- 1682Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, Bavarian Catholic archbishop (b. 1625)
- 1787Floyer Sydenham, English classical scholar (b. 1710)
- 1839Benjamin Pierce, American politician (b. 1757)
- 1865Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano (b. 1797)
- 1872Frederick Maurice, English theologian (b. 1805)
- 1872William Frederick Horry, English convicted murderer (b. 1843)
- 1878John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian politician (b. 1796)
- 1890Alexander F. Mozhayskiy, Russian aviation pioneer (b. 1825)
- 1890David Wilber, American politician (b. 1820)
- 1897Jandamarra, Indigenous Australian resistance leader (b. c. 1873)
- 1914Rube Waddell, American baseball player (b. 1876)
- 1917Scott Joplin, American musician and composer (b. 1868)
- 1922Charles I of Austria (b. 1887)
- 1930Cosima Wagner, daughter of Franz Liszt and widow of Richard Wagner (b. 1837)
- 1946Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (b. 1882)
- 1947King George II of Greece (b. 1890)
- 1950Charles R. Drew, American physician (b. 1904)
- 1962Jussi Kekkonen, Finnish major (b. 1910)
- 1965Helena Rubinstein, Polish-born American cosmetics manufacturer (b. 1870)
- 1966Flann O'Brien, Irish humorist (b. 1911)
- 1967Dang Van Ngu, Vietnamese doctor and intellectual (b. 1910)
- 1968Lev Davidovich Landau, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
- 1976Max Ernst, German artist (b. 1891)
- 1979Barbara Luddy, American actress (b. 1908)
- 1979Bruno Coquatrix, French music impresario (b. 1910)
- 1981Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai composer and bandleader (b. 1910)
- 1984Elizabeth Goudge, English writer (b. 1900)
- 1984Marvin Gaye, American singer (b. 1939)
- 1985Douglass Wallop, American novelist and playwright (b. 1920)
- 1986Erik Bruhn, Danish ballet dancer, choreographer (b. 1928)
- 1988Jim Jordan, American actor (Fibber McGee) (b. 1896)
- 1991Jaime Guzmán, Chilean politician (b. 1946)
- 1991Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)
- 1992Michael Havers, British barrister and politician (b. 1923)
- 1992Nigel Preston, English drummer (b. 1959)
- 1993Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (b. 1954)
- 1994Robert Doisneau, French photographer (b. 1912)
- 1995H. Adams Carter, American Alpine Club President, 10th Mountain Division trainer (b. 1914)
- 1995Lucy Rie, American potter (b. 1902)
- 1996John McSherry, American baseball umpire (b. 1944)
- 1997Norman Carr, British conservationist (b. 1912)
- 1998Gene Evans, American actor (b. 1922)
- 1998Rozz Williams, American musician (Christian Death) (b. 1963)
- 1999Jesse Stone, American record producer (b. 1901)
- 2000Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart, Scottish jurist (b. 1924)
- 2001Jo-Jo Moore, American baseball player (b. 1908)
- 2001Olivia Barclay, British astrologer (b. 1919)
- 2001Trinh Cong Son, Vietnamese composer (b. 1939)
- 2002Gavin Pfuhl, South African cricketer (b. 1947)
- 2002Simo Häyhä, Finnish marksman (b. 1905)
- 2003Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor and singer (b. 1956)
- 2004Aaron Bank, American Office of Strategic Services officer and founder of the US Army Special Forces (b. 1902)
- 2004Carrie Snodgress, American actress (b. 1946)
- 2004Ioannis Kyrastas, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- 2004Nilo Soruco, Bolivian songwriter (b. 1927)
- 2005Alexander Brott, Canadian violinist and composer (b. 1915)
- 2005Harald Juhnke, German entertainer (b. 1929)
- 2005Jack Keller, American songwriter (b. 1936)
- 2005Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and ambassador (b 1925)
- 2005Robert Coldwell Wood, American educator (b. 1923)
- 2006In Tam, Cambodian politician (b. 1916)
- 2007Herb Carneal, American sports broadcaster (b. 1923)
- 2010John Forsythe, American actor (b. 1918)
- 2010Tzannis Tzannetakis, Greek politician, 175th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1927)
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