1932 – Charles G. King, University of Pittsburgh isolates Vitamin C, using adrenal samples provided by Hungarian Albert Szent-Györgyi
1945 – The Holocaust: US forces liberate the Ohrdruf concentration camp in Germany, the first such camp to be liberated by the US Army
1959 – Mali Federation founded, consisting of Senegal and French Sudan (dissolved 1960)
1972 – First electric power plant fueled by garbage begins operating
1988 – Largest crowd (55,438) at an MLB Opening Day game at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium; Reds win over St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4 in 12 innings
1992 – 146th Grand National: 14/1 shot Party Politics, ridden by Welsh jockey Carl Llewellyn wins by 2½ lengths from Romany King
1994 – Netscape Communications founded as Mosaic Communications
1997 – Second Defense Meteorological Satellite Program weather satellite is launched aboard a Titan II rocket
Author: gil7
Today in History for 4th April 2026
Historical Events
1655 – Battle of Porto Farina: English fleet defeats Barbary corsairs in Tunis
1974 – Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth’s home run record by hitting his 714th in Cincinnati against Jack Billingham
1983 – 45th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: North Carolina State beats Houston, 54-52; Wolfpack win with buzzer-beating dunk by Lorenzo Charles off a desperation 30 foot shot from Dereck Whittenburg
2022 – Economist Rodrigo Chaves elected President of Costa Rica defeating current president José María Figueres
2022 – Ukrainian government begins a war crimes investigation after 410 civilians found killed after the withdrawal of Russian forces from around Kyiv
Famous Birthdays
1802 – Dorothea Dix, American pioneering nurse and social activist who created the first American mental asylums, born in Hampden, Maine (d. 1887)
1933 – Frits Bolkestein, Dutch politician (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy), born in Amsterdam
1953 – Susan Alcorn, American pedal steel guitarist and avant garde composer, born in Allentown, Pennsylvania (d. 2025)
1977 – Omarr Smith, American football defensive back, born in Chicago, Illinois
1983 – Angelle Tymon, American journalist and TV game show host (PlayMania Block), born in Lutcher, Louisiana
Famous Deaths
1994 – Olga Lowina, Dutch yodeler (Edelweisskapel), dies at 69
1999 – Early Wynn, Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (Cy Young Award 1959 Chicago WS; MLB wins leader 1954, 59; 9 x MLB All Star; Cleveland Indians), dies of a stroke at 79
2015 – Elmer Lach, Canadian Hockey HOF center (Stanley Cup 1944, 46, 53 Montreal Canadiens; Hart Trophy 1945; Art Ross Trophy 1948; 5 x NHL All Star), dies of a stroke at 97
2018 – Gertrude Jeannette, African American taxi driver, playwright and film and stage actress (Shaft, Cotton Comes to Harlem), dies at 103
2023 – Craig Breedlove, American auto racer (5 x world land speed record holder; first to reach 500mph (800km/h) and 600mph (970km/h), dies of cancer at 86
Famous Deaths for 3rd April 2026
1694 – Ferdinand van Apshoven the Younger, Flemish painter, buried at 64
1747 – Francesco Solimena, Italian painter, dies at 89
1792 – George Pocock, British admiral who commanded British naval forces in the East Indies, dies at 86
1987 – Hans Gál, Austrian-British composer (Die heilige Ente (The Sacred Duck)), dies at 97
1993 – Alexander Mnouchkine, French movie producer (Professional), dies at 83
1996 – (Roosevelt) “Booba” Barnes, American blues guitarist, dies at 59
2014 – Tommy Lynn Sells, American serial killer, executed for murder at 49
2014 – Virginie Korte-van Hemel, Dutch Catholic People’s Party (KVP) politician (Council of State, 1992-99; Secretary of Justice, 1982-89), dies at 84
2017 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian classical Hindustani singer, dies at 84
2023 – Rena Koumioti, Greek laiko and entechno singer, dies due to complications of dementia at 81
Historical Events for 3rd April 2026
1882 – Wood block alarm invented, when alarm rang, it dropped 20 wood blocks
1913 – British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst is sentenced to 3 years in jail for incitement to place an explosive in a building at Walton
1927 – Interstate Commerce Commission transfers Ohio to Eastern time zone
1929 – Persia agrees to the Litvinov Protocol
1930 – Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 4-3 for a 2-0 series sweep and their 3rd Championship
1957 – Soviet Union conducts atmospheric nuclear test
1984 – Soviet Soyuz T-11 launches carrying three cosmonauts, including the first Indian cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma
2020 – London’s Nightingale hospital opened by Prince Charles (remotely) after nine days with 4,000 beds to treat COVID-19 patients at the ExCeL Centre
Today in History for 3rd April 2026
Historical Events
1956 – German war criminals Hinrichsen, Ruhl, Siebens and Viebahn freed
1960 – 7.0 earthquake felt in Havre, Belgium
1964 – The Beatles hold top 6 spots on the record chart in Sydney, Australia
1989 – New York Mets win their 11th consecutive home opener 8-4 over the St. Louis Cardinals at Shea Stadium
2016 – ANA Inspiration Women’s Golf, Mission Hills CC: Lydia Ko of New Zealand wins by 1 from Charley Hull and Chun In-gee for her second major title
Famous Birthdays
1922 – Ted Ashley [Theodore Assofsky], American talent agent and chairman of Warner Brothers (1969-80), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
1941 – Joel Krosnick, American cellist and member of the Juilliard String Quartet (1974-2016), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 2025)
1941 – Carl Boenish, American father of BASE jumping, born in New Castle, Pennsylvania (d. 1984)
1944 – Barry Pritchard, British rock guitarist (Fortunes – “You’ve Got Your Troubles”; “Here It Comes Again”; “This Golden Ring”), born in Birmingham, England (d. 1999)
1960 – Marie Denise Pelletier, Canadian pop singer (Entre la tête et le cœur), born in Montréal, Québec
Famous Deaths
1876 – Henriette Davidis, German cookery writer (Practical Cookbook), dies at 75
1993 – Pinky Lee, American children’s show host (Pinky Lee Show), dies of a heart attack at 85
2002 – Fad Gadget [Francis Tovey], English singer and musician, dies of a heart attack at 45
2007 – Marion Eames, Welsh novelist, dies at 86
2015 – Sarah Brady, American gun-control activist, dies at 73
Famous Deaths for 2nd April 2026
1272 – Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1209)
1416 – Ferdinand I the Righteous, King of Aragon and Sicily, dies at 52
1507 – Francis of Paola, Italian founder of the Order of the Minims (b. 1416)
1914 – Paul von Heyse, German writer (Nobel Prize for Literature 1910), dies at 84
1953 – Jean Epstein, French director (Vive la Vie), dies at 56
1974 – Douglass Dumbrille, Canadian actor (Mr Deed Goes to Town), dies at 84
1994 – Richard Davies, actor (Pvt Buckaroo), dies of a heart attack at 79
1995 – Leo LeBlanc, American country musician and pianist who was legally blind, dies of cancer at 55
2001 – Jennifer Syme, American actress (b. 1972)
2020 – Carl Tacy, American college basketball coach (Wake Forest University 1972-85; 222-149 record), dies at 87
Historical Events for 2nd April 2026
1767 – King Charles III of Spain gives orders to expel the Jesuits from the Spanish Empire
1866 – US President Andrew Johnson ends civil war in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
1912 – Sun Yet Sen forms Guomindang Party in China
1930 – Ras Tafari Makonnen is proclaimed Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
1939 – 6th US Masters Tournament: Ralph Guldahl wins his only Masters title with a tournament record 279 (−9), 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Sam Snead
1983 – New York Islanders right wing Mike Bossy scores in a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins to become the first player in NHL history to score 60 goals in 3 consecutive seasons
2012 – 74th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Kentucky defeats Kansas, 67-59; Wildcats guard Doron Lamb, 22 points
2019 – 70 villages evacuated in Khuzesta province, Iran, after at least 45 killed in flooding after unprecedented rainfall
Today in History for 2nd April 2026
Historical Events
1767 – King Charles III of Spain gives orders to expel the Jesuits from the Spanish Empire
1804 – Forty merchantmen are wrecked when a convoy led by HMS Apollo runs aground off the coast of Portugal
1872 – US engineer George Brayton patents an internal combustion engine (Brayton Cycle)
1902 – Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated by a terrorist in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg
1977 – Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” album goes to No. 1 and stays atop the charts for 31 weeks
Famous Birthdays
1798 – August Heinrich Hoffmann, German writer, born in Fallersleben, Electorate of Brunswick -Lüneburg (d. 1874)
1840 – Émile Zola, French novelist and critic (J’accuse – I Accuse), born in Paris, France (d. 1902)
1927 – Carmen Basilio, American boxer (World Welterweight title 1955-56; Middleweight title 1957-58), born in Canastota, New York (d. 2012)
1940 – Mike Hailwood, British motorcycle road racer (World C’ships: 250cc – 1961, 1966, 1967; 350cc – 1966, 1967; 500cc –1962-65; 76 Grand Prix wins), born in Great Milton, England (d. 1981)
1993 – Keshorn Walcott ORTT, Trinidadian athlete (Olympic gold javelin 2012, bronze 2016), born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Famous Deaths
1803 – Hieronymus van Alphen, Dutch poet of children’s poems (Proeve van kleine gedigen voor Kinder), dies at 56
1944 – Mikuláš Moyzes, Slovak composer (The Orphans), dies at 71
2002 – Henry Slesar, American writer and playwright (The Edge of Night), dies at 74
2013 – Milo O’Shea, Irish character actor (Barbarella, Staircase and Mass Appeal, Romeo and Juliet), dies at 86
2014 – Urs Widmer, Swiss writer, dies at 75
Famous Deaths for 1st April 2026
1904 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American humorist and poet (Fables for the Frivolous, When the Great Gray Ships Come In), dies at 31
1936 – Mikhail Vladimirovich Ivanov-Boretsky, composer, dies at 61
1951 – Clement D’Hooghe, Belgian composer, dies at 51
1968 – Lev Landau, Russian physicist (1962 Nobel Prize for Physics for superfluidity theory), dies from injuries from an earlier car accident at 60
1974 – Alfred Ernest Whitehead, English-Canadian composer, dies at 86
1976 – Freddie Lennon, father of John Lennon (Beatles), dies at 63
2004 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress (Diary of Mad Housewife), dies at 58
2011 – Lou Gorman, American baseball executive (general manager Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox), dies at 82
2013 – Nicolae Martinescu, Romanian Greco-Roman wrestler (Olympic gold 100kg 1972), dies at 73
2025 – Star VII, Alaskan reindeer and a mascot of Anchorage, Alaska, euthanized after probably being poisoned at 8
Historical Events for 1st April 2026
792 – Maya city of Piedras Negras celebrates military triumph over nearby settlement of Pomona (as depicted in Stela 12 Piedras Negras)
1778 – New Orleans businessman Oliver Pollock creates the “$” symbol
1866 – US Congress rejects presidential veto giving all equal rights in US
1867 – Singapore, Penang and Malacca become British crown colonies
1888 – Students from Rotterdam, Netherlands establish a cricket club called Rotterdamsche Cricket and Football Club Sparta which evolves into Sparta Rotterdam
1910 – Romanian geographer Dumitru Dan completes a 62,137-mile (100,000-kilometer) walk
2000 – American boxer Chris Byrd wins WBO Heavyweight title after Ukrainian champion Vitali Klitschko retires with a shoulder injury at the end of the 9th round in Berlin, Germany
2012 – 32nd Golden Raspberry Awards: Jack and Jill wins