April in History

Historical Events on April

2013 The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham

1991 Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union

1944 Diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.

1976 The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson's 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.

1988 In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

2002 Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country's military.

1989 Upon Hu Yaobang's death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.

1969 Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.

2014 The American city of Flint, Michigan switches its water source to the Flint River, beginning the ongoing Flint water crisis which has caused lead poisoning in up to 12,000 people, and 15 deaths from Legionnaires disease, ultimately leading to criminal indictments against 15 people, five of whom have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

1993 Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.

2005 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.

2005 Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union.

1986 A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster.

1989 People's Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests

1986 The city of Pripyat as well as the surrounding areas are evacuated due to Chernobyl disaster.

1989 The April 27 demonstrations, student-led protests responding to the April 26 Editorial, during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

1920 Azerbaijan is added to the Soviet Union.

1967 Vietnam War: Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses his induction into the United States Army and is subsequently stripped of his championship and license.

Famous Birthdays on April

1916 Heinz Meyer

1942 Jacob Zuma

1927 Pope Benedict XVI

1977 John Cena

1973 Sachin Tendulkar

1947 Johan Cruyff

1822 Ulysses S. Grant

1986 Dianna Agron

Famous Deaths on April

2005 Pope John Paul II

1968 Martin Luther King Jr.

1964 Douglas MacArthur

AD 30 Jesus

2013 Margaret Thatcher

485 Proclus

2016 Prince (musician)

1945 Benito Mussolini

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