April 1: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – April 1 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
- 1st April 1578: Blood circulation was discovered by William Harvey of England.
- 1st April 1621: The colonists of Plymouth, Massachusetts created the first treaty with the Native Americans.
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18th Century – What Happened on April 1 – The 1700s
- 1st April 1724: Drapier’s letters were published by Jonathan Swift today.
- 1st April 1748: The ruins of Pompeii were found on this day.
- 1st April 1778: A New Orleans businessman, Olivier Pollock, created the symbol “$” today.
- 1st April 1789: The U.S. House of Representatives held its full meeting today in New York City and Fredrick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was elected as the first House Speaker.
- 1st April 1793: The volcano Unsen erupted in Japan, killing at least 53,000 people.
19th Century – April 1 This Day That Year – The 1800s
- 1st April 1826: The internal combustion engine was today patented by Samuel Mory.
- 1st April 1853: Cincinnati, today, became the first city in the United States to pay firefighters a regular salary.
- 1st April 1863: The first wartime conscription law came into effect today in the United States.
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- 1st April 1864: The first ever travel accident policy was today issued by the Travel Insurance Company to James Batterson.
- 1st April 1865: General Robert E Lee, today launched the final offensive at the Battle of Five Forks.
- 1st April 1867: Singapore, Penang, and Malakka became colonies under the British Crown.
- 1st April 1867: Today marks the opening of The International Exhibition in Paris.
- 1st April 1867: In the municipal election of Tuscumbia in Alabama, blacks exercised their franchise today.
- 1st April 1868: The Hampton Institute was established today in Virginia.
- 1st April 1872: The first edition of “The Standard” was published on this day.
- 1st April 1873: “Atlantic”, the British White Star steamship sank off Nova Scotia today killing 547 people.
- 1st April 1881: In the Netherlands, the Kingdom post office opened today.
- 1st April 1881: In Jerusalem, anti-Jewish riots took place today.
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- 1st April 1889: In Chicago, the first dishwashing machine was marketed today.
- 1st April 1891: The William Wrigley Jr. Company, known for its juicy Fruit Gum, was today founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1st April 1891: The telephone connection between London and Paris was opened today.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day April 1st – The 1900s
- 1st April 1905: A telephone link was established between Paris and Berlin today.
- 1st April 1905: The British East Africa protectorate became a colony of Kenya.
- 1st April 1918: The Royal Flying Corps was today replaced by the Royal Air Force.
- 1st April 1924: Today Imperial Airways was formed in Britain.
- 1st April 1924: Adolf Hitler was today sentenced to five years in prison for high treason about the “Beer Hall Putsch”.
- 1st April 1927: “His Master Voice” today introduced the first automatic record changer.
- 1st April 1928: Chiang Kai-Shek of China began attacking the communists.
- 1st April 1929: The “Yo-Yo” was today introduced by Louie Marx.
- 1st April 1931: Managua Nicaragua was struck by a devastating earthquake. It killed 2000 people.
- 1st April 1933: Persecution of Jews began in Nazi Germany by boycotting Jewish businesses.
- 1st April 1935: An announcement was made today, about the first radio tube to be made of metal.
- 1st April 1937: Aden today became a British Colony.
- 1st April 1938: The first fluorescent lamp which was commercially successful was introduced today.
- 1st April 1939: At the end of the Spanish Civil War, the Franco government in Spain was recognized by the U. S. today.
- 1st April 1941: The first contract for advertising on FM radio station began on W71NY in New York City today.
- 1st April 1945: In its last campaign in World War II, U.S. forces today, invaded Okinawa.
- 1st April 1946: Weight Watchers was formed today.
- 1st April 1946: Hawaii was today struck by a tsunami-like tidal wave, killing over 170 people.
- 1st April 1948: The Berlin Airlift began today.
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- 1st April 1949: The first all-black cast variety show “Happy Puppy” premiered today.
- 1st April 1950: Italian Somalia became today, a United Nations trust territory under Italian administration.
- 1st April 1952: The Big Bang Theory was today proposed by Alpher, Bethe & Gamow.
- 1st April 1953: The Department of Health Education and Welfare was today created by the U.S. Congress.
- 1st April 1954: The U.S. Air Force Academy was today formed in Colorado.
- 1st April 1955: Armed military action was taken against a bureaucratic strike in Amsterdam.
- 1st April 1956: At least 380 people were killed in violent clashes in Algeria.
- 1st April 1960: France today exploded 2 atom bombs in the Sahara Desert.
- 1st April 1960: The first weather satellite TIROS 1 was today launched by the U.S.
- 1st April 1960: U Nu was elected Premier of Burma today.
- 1st April 1963: Workers of the International Typographical Union ended their 114-day strike today. The strike resulted in the closure of nine New York City newspapers.
- 1st April 1964: Cleveland today recorded a temperature of 10°F which was its lowest for April.
- 1st April 1965: Henry Fazzie, the South African Worker’s Union leader was today sentenced to 10 years.
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- 1st April 1966: Today the first world festival of black art (Dakar Senegal) was held.
- 1st April 1967: The United States Department of Transportation commences operations today.
- 1st April 1969: The Royal Canadian Mint today formally formed Crown Corporation.
- 1st April 1970: Captain Ernst Medina was today charged by the US Army with the My Lai massacre.
- 1st April 1970: President Nixon of the United States today signed the bill, Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, which bans cigarette advertisements. The act was to take effect from 1st Jan 1971.
- 1st April 1971: All restrictions on gold ownership were today lifted by the United Kingdom.
- 1st April 1972: The offensive in South Vietnam was today renewed by the Vietcong, the forces of North Vietnam.
- 1st April 1973: OPEC increases petroleum prices by 5.7% today.
- 1st April 1973: Japan allows its citizens to own gold.
- 1st April 1975: President of Cambodia Lon Nol flees to Red Khmer.
- 1st April 1976: Apple computers began their operations today.
- 1st April 1976: In the northeastern United States, the operation of six bankrupt railroads was taken over by Conrail.
- 1st April 1976: Astronomer Patrick Moore was the first to report the Jovian-Plutonian gravitational effect.
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- 1st April 1977: An attempt to establish a Muslim state in Chad fails.
- 1st April 1978: By a presidential decree the Philippine College of Commerce became the Polytechnic University of the Philippines today.
- 1st April 1979: After the fall of the Shah, Iran was today proclaimed as an Islamic Republic by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
- 1st April 1980: France performs a nuclear test today.
- 1st April 1980: Today there was an attempt to assassinate the vice-premier of Iraq Tariq Aziz, which failed.
- 1st April 1981: Daylight saving time was introduced in USSR today.
- 1st April 1982: The United States today transferred the “Canal Zone” to Panama.
- 1st April 1983: Anti-nuclear demonstrators in England today formed a 14-mile-long human chain by linking arms.
- 1st April 1983: Iraq steps up missile attacks on Iran.
- 1st April 1985: World oil prices today fell below the $10 mark.
- 1st April 1986: The U.S. submarine Nathaniel Green ran aground in the Irish Sea.
- 1st April 1987: U.S. President Ronald Regan today told the doctors in Philadelphia “We have declared AIDS public health enemy number 1”.
- 1st April 1987: Steve Newman became the first man to walk around the world. It took him 4 years to walk 22,000 miles.
- 1st April 1991: The Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved today.
- 1st April 1991: British hostage Roger Cooper was today released by Iran after five years.
- 1st April 1991: The US Supreme Court today ruled that jurors could not be barred from serving due to their race.
- 1st April 1996: U.S. President Bill Clinton threw out the first ball preceding a game between the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles.
- 1st April 1998: A federal judge today dismissed the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit against U.S. President Bill Clinton. He said that the claims fell far short of being worthy of trial.
- 1st April 1999: The Canadian territory of Nunavut was created. It was created from the eastern part of Northwest Territories covering about 772,000 square miles.
21st Century – April 1 This Day In History – The 2000s
- 1st April 2001: Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was arrested today on charges of corruption. There was a 26-hour standoff with the police at his Belgrade villa before the arrest.
- 1st April 2001: China began holding 24 crew members of the U.S. Surveillance plane which had made an emergency landing after an in-flight collision with a Chinese fighter jet. They were released on the 11th The pilot of the Chinese jet is missing, presumed to be dead.
- 1st April 2003: North Korea today test-fired its anti-ship missile off its west coast.
- 1st April 2004: Gateway Inc. today announced that it would be closing down all its 188 stores on April 9th.
- 1st April 2004: US President George W Bush today signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. This bill will make it a crime to harm a fetus during an assault on a pregnant woman.
- 1st April 2009: Albania and Croatia today joined the NATO (North Asian Treaty Organization).
- 1st April 2010: The Medicare reimbursement to physicians was cut by 21% by the U.S. Congress on this day.
- 1st April 2011: A protest against the burning of the Quran turned violent and a mob attacked a U.N. compound in Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan killing thirteen people including eight foreigners.
- 1st April 2012: An ATR-72 aircraft of the U Tair Aviation crashed in Siberia killing at least 31 people.
- 1st April 2013: The world’s first smelling T V screen was today unveiled in Japan.
- 1st April 2013: A suicide bombing occurred in Tikrit in Iraq today. Nine people were killed in the bombing.
- 1st April 2014: NATO today suspended all practical and military cooperation with Russia.
- 1st April 2015: A Russian trawler Dalniy Vostok sank off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula on this day killing 56 people.
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