On this day
1st April
April Fool's Day
A pinch and a punch for the first of the month! Today is the day for hoaxes, when the world's newspapers sneak fake tales into their August pages and small
2nd April
Fairy Tale King's birthday
No childhood would be complete without the fairy stories of Hans Christian Andersen, born today in 1805 in Odense, Denmark.
3rd April
Ice Cream Sundae's birthday
A classic of the sticky-dessert genre, the Sundae was created on a Sunday on this day in 1892, when a drugstore owner and church treasurer in upstate New
4th April
World Rat Day
According to the interwebz, in Britain you're never more than 20 feet away from a rat. On average, obviously. And as carriers of diseases from plague to
5th April
Spencer Tracy took to the stage this day
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy, one of Hollywood's greatest male lead actors, and a man whose naturalistic acting style put him decades ahead of his time, entered
6th April
Anniversary of the Olympics return to Greece
This day in 1896, Athens hosted the Summer Olympics, the first international Olympics of modern times.
7th April
World Health Day
In 1948, shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) was established, it designated every 7th April from 1950 onwards as World Health Day, a time
8th April
Buddha's Birthday in Japan
In most of Asia, Buddha's birthday, like Christmas, is a movable feast, depending which type of Buddhism and lunar calendar you follow – but the organised
9th April
Finnish Language Day
Hei! Tänään on Suomen kielen päivä, aika juhlistaa mahtavia kirjaimia J ja K, sekä lisätä pisteitä mahdollisimman monen vokaalin päälle. Or,
10th April
Safety Pin's Birthday
One of the world's most prolific inventors, Walter Hunt is credited with an ice plough, bottle-stoppers, road-sweeping machines, a fountain pen, a repeating
11th April
The anniversary of Napoleon's abdication
On this day in 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte, the military genius who made his way up through the ranks of revolutionary France and then became emperor, sparking
12th April
Tatler's birthday
More than three hundred years ago today, the English publisher Richard Steele launched the first version of a society gossip and manners magazine that
13th April
James Bond's birthday
On this day in 1953, the first book by a one-time British intelligence officer named Ian Fleming rolled off the presses – and James Bond, one of the
14th April
Abraham Lincoln was shot on this day
This day in 1865, an actor named John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln as he attended the theatre.
15th April
The band played on
Early this day in 1912, the RMS Titanic passenger liner sank beneath the sub-zero waters of the Atlantic and spiralled almost 4,000 metres (12,500 feet)
16th April
Charlie Chaplin's birthday
One of film's first superstars, who made his name as the bowler-hatted, cane-wielding Tramp of the silent era, Charles Spencer Chaplin, Jr, was born in
17th April
International Kummel Day
Henry Jeffrey of The Guardian and Master of Malt blog proposed that kummel be dedicated a day of its own at an event with other drinks hacks, including
18th April
The real Game of Thrones began this day
If you thought the TV series Game of Thrones seemed a little over the top, or perhaps even unrealistically grim, allow us to introduce you to possibly
19th April
Amaretto Day
Who doesn't like the bittersweet almond and vanilla flavour of amaretto liqueur? It's delicious, indulgent and surely deserved of its own celebratory day.
20th April
Anniversary of the 1st film star's movie debut
The Mary Pickford cocktail produces in one's soul the same effect as the provoking grace of its namesake, Ramón Gómez de la Serra wrote in his 1930 book
21st April
Happy birthday Your Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II turns 95 today, and, being the Queen she gets to celebrate all over again in June on her official birthday. She has been head of state
22nd April
Earth Day
Earth Day is probably the biggest event in the green calendar. More than a billion people, in 190 countries, take part each year. Which is an impressive
23rd April
St George's Day
Saint George is the patron saint of England and gives his name to the English flag, the Saint George's Cross, a red cross on a white background. (For readers
24th April
New York's Woolworth Building opened on this day
Built in the neo-Gothic style, New York City's Woolworth Building is a striking landmark and when it was opened this day in 1913, the then 60 storey building
25th April
ANZAC Day
Since 1916, both Australia and New Zealand, not to mention some Pacific island nations, have commemorated today as Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army
26th April
World Intellectual Property Day
Observed annually on this day, World Intellectual Property Day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2000 to raise awareness
27th April
King's Day
If you didn't know that orange was the national colour of the Netherlands, it wouldn't take you long to realise this on the 27th April (or the 26th April
28th April
Harper Lee's birthday
Written by Nelle Harper Lee, who was born on this day in 1926 and died aged 89 in February 2016, everyone who has read To Kill a Mockingbird will have
29th April
Thesaurus' birthday
A British physician named Peter Mark Roget signed off the preface to the first thesaurus of the modern era this day in 1852, his compendium of synonyms
30th April
Louisiana's birthday
On this day in 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the United States, meaning that the Sazerac cocktail, is definitively not French but American.
