Date·Lore

On This Day · The 91st day of the year

April 1

April 1 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1865 and 2004. American 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.

♈ZodiacAries ◈BirthstoneDiamond ❀Birth flowerDaisy

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on April 1?

April 1 is the 91st day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1865 and 2004. Famous people born on April 1 include Rachel Maddow, Sophie Germain and Otto von Bismarck.

The shape of the day

50 years on from Steve Jobs, April 1 is a date with an anniversary worth pausing on. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where conflict is a recurring thread.

Aries is the sign for April 1 — read more on the Aries page, or see April's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on April 1

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Movie The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
  • Game SoulQuest

2025

  • Game Haste

2023

  • Game Crab Champions
  • TV Hell's Paradise
  • TV Tengoku Daimakyo

2022

  • TV Slow Horses

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1865

    American Civil War

    American 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.

  2. 1918

    Royal Air Force

    The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

  3. 1922

    Northern Ireland

    In newly formed Northern Ireland, six Catholics are murdered in the Arnon Street killings, one week after six others were killed in the McMahon killings.

  4. 1941

    Fântâna Albă massacre

    Fântâna Albă massacre: Between two hundred and two thousand Romanian civilians are killed by Soviet Border Troops.

  5. 1969

    Hawker Siddeley Harrier

    The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational fighter aircraft with Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing capabilities, enters service with the Royal Air Force.

  6. 1970

    Richard Nixon

    President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law.

  7. 1976

    Steve Jobs

    Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer, Inc.

  8. 2001

    Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands

    Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it.

  9. 2001

    Lockheed EP-3

    An 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.

  10. 2004

    Google

    Google launches its Email service Gmail.

Famous birthday twins

Born on April 1

Rachel Maddow

b. 1973

American journalist and author

Sophie Germain

b. 1776

French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher

Otto von Bismarck

b. 1815

German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire

Samuel Alito

b. 1950

American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Gaston Eyskens

b. 1905

Belgian economist and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium

Abraham Maslow

b. 1908

American psychologist and academic

Toshiro Mifune

b. 1920

Japanese actor

Randy Orton

b. 1980

American wrestler

Deaths

  • 1971Kathleen Lonsdale
  • 1924Lloyd Hildebrand
  • 1922Charles I of Austria
  • 1548Sigismund I the Old
  • 1132Hugh of Châteauneuf
  • 1085Emperor Shenzong of Song

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Cellach of Armagh
  • —Christian feast day: Hugh of Grenoble
  • —Christian feast day: Frederick Denison Maurice (Church of England)
  • —Christian feast day: Mary of Egypt
  • —Christian feast day: Melito of Sardis
  • —Christian feast day: Tewdrig
  • —Christian feast day: Theodora
  • —Christian feast day: Walric, abbot of Leuconay

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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