April 1Birthdays & History

On this day: April 1 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 285Roman emperor Diocletian names Maximian his co-emperor ("Augustus").Europe
2. 527Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.Europe
3. 1081Alexios I Komnenos overthrows the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and, after his troops spend three days extensively looting Constantinople, is formally crowned on April 4.EuropeMiddle East
4. 1572In the Eighty Years' War, the Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Seventeen Provinces, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.Europe
5. 1725J. S. Bach's later Easter Oratorio in its first version is performed at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig on Easter Sunday.Europe
6. 1789In New York City, the United States House of Representatives achieves its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first Speaker.North America
7. 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.Latin AmericaNorth America
8. 1865American Civil War: Union troops led by Philip Sheridan decisively defeat Confederate troops led by George Pickett, cutting the Army of Northern Virginia's last supply line during the Siege of Petersburg.North America
9. 1867Singapore becomes a British crown colony.AsiaEurope
10. 1873The White Star steamer SS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in one of the worst marine disasters of the 19th century.North America
11. 1900Prince George becomes absolute monarch of the Cretan State.Europe
12. 1908The Territorial Force (renamed Territorial Army in 1920) is formed as a volunteer reserve component of the British Army.Europe
13. 1918The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.Europe
14. 1922In newly formed Northern Ireland, six Catholics are murdered in the Arnon Street killings, one week after six others were killed in the McMahon killings.Europe
15. 1924The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.North America
16. 1924Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years fortress confinement for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch" but spends only nine months in jail.Europe
17. 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.Europe
18. 1935India's central banking institution, the Reserve Bank of India, is formed.Asia
19. 1937Aden becomes a British crown colony.Europe
20. 1937The Royal New Zealand Air Force is formed as an independent service.Oceania
21. 1939Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.Europe
22. 1941Fântâna Albă massacre: Between two hundred and two thousand Romanian civilians are killed by Soviet Border Troops.Europe
23. 1941A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of 'Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.Middle East
24. 1944World War II: Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.North AmericaEurope
25. 1945World War II: The Tenth United States Army attacks the Thirty-Second Japanese Army on Okinawa.North AmericaAsia
26. 1946The Malayan Union is established. Protests from locals led to the establishment of the Federation of Malaya two years later.Asia
27. 1946The 8.6 Mw Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii.North America
28. 1947The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.Oceania
29. 1948Cold War: Communist forces respond to the introduction of the Deutsche Mark by attempting to force the western powers to withdraw from Berlin.Europe
30. 1948Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark.Europe
31. 1949The Government of Canada repeals Japanese-Canadian internment after seven years.North AmericaAsia
32. 1954United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.North America
33. 1955The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece.EuropeMiddle East
34. 1960The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.North America
35. 1964The British Admiralty, War Office and Air Ministry are replaced by a unified Defence Council of the United Kingdom.Europe
36. 1969The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational fighter aircraft with Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing capabilities, enters service with the Royal Air Force.Europe
37. 1970A Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crashes near Berrechid, Morocco, killing 61.Africa
38. 1970President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law.North America
39. 1971Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre more than a thousand people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.Asia
40. 1973Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.Asia
41. 1974The Local Government Act 1972 of England and Wales comes into effect.Europe
42. 1976Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer, Inc.North America
43. 1979Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.Middle East
44. 1984Singer Marvin Gaye is shot to death by his father in his home in Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, California.North America
45. 1986Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attack a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion.Asia
46. 1989Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), is introduced in Scotland.Europe
47. 1993NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki is killed in a plane crash near the Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Blountville, Tennessee.North America
48. 1997Comet Hale–Bopp is seen passing at perihelion.World
49. 1999Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.North America
50. 2001Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.Europe
51. 2001An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People's Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Chinese pilot ejected but is subsequently lost. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, China and is detained.North AmericaAsia
52. 2001Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it.Europe
53. 2004Google launches its Email service Gmail.North America
54. 2006Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) of the Government of the United Kingdom is enforced, but later merged into National Crime Agency on 7 October 2013.Europe
55. 2011After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of fourteen people, including seven UN workers.Asia
56. 2016The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict begins along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact.Europe
57. 2026The Artemis II lunar flyby mission launches, marking the first crewed flight above low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.North America

Source: Wikipedia "April 1" / CC BY-SA 4.0