- Apr 1 Armed military action taken against bureaucratic strike in Amsterdam
- Apr 1 EOKA-bomb attacks against British government buildings in Cyprus
- Apr 1 WTVT TV channel 13 in Tampa-St Petersburg, FL (CBS) 1st broadcast
- Apr 3 Baltimore Orioles pull their 1st triple play (3-6-2 vs KC Athletics)
- Apr 3 Fire in cinema in Sclessin, Belgium, kills 39
- Apr 3 Night express train in Guadalajara, Mexico derails, killing 300
Howl Obscenity Charges
Apr 3 The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg's book "Howl" against obscenity charges
- Apr 4 British government signs military treaty with Iraq
PM Anthony Eden
Apr 5 Anthony Eden succeeds Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
US Masters Golf
Apr 10 19th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Cary Middlecoff wins by a record 7 strokes ahead of Ben Hogan
- Apr 10 9th NBA Championship: Syrac Nats beat Ft Wayne Pistons, 4 games to 3
- Apr 10 Ruth Ellis shoots jilting lover David Blakely (last woman to be executed in the UK)
Marty
Apr 11 "Marty" directed by Delbert Mann and starring Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair premieres in New York (Best Picture 1956)
Attempt on Chinese Premier
Apr 11 Chartered Air India plane the "Kashmir Princess" is bombed and crashes into the South China Sea in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by a Kuomintang secret agent
Sobers 1st WI Appearance
Apr 11 Garfield Sobers starts run of 85 uninterrupted Test Cricket appearances for West Indies
- Apr 12 1st game in KC, KC A's beat Detroit Tigers, 6-2
Polio Vaccine Approved
Apr 12 Polio vaccine tested by Jonas Salk announced to be 'safe and effective' and is given full approval by the US Food and Drug Administration
- Apr 13 20.33" (51.64 cm) of rainfall, Axis, Alabama (then state record, eclipsed in 1997)
Sports History
Apr 14 26-year-old catcher/outfielder Elston Howard becomes first African-American to play for NY Yankees; hits single with 1 RBI in 8-4 loss to Boston Red Sox
- Apr 14 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings win back-to-back titles; beat Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 for a 4-3 series victory
- Apr 14 WBRZ TV channel 2 in Baton Rouge, LA (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
- Apr 15 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Apr 18 1st "Walk"/"Don't Walk" lighted street signals installed
- Apr 18 1st Bandoeng Conference opens in Indonesia, attended by 29 nations - first international assembly of Asian-African nations
- Apr 18 59th Boston Marathon won by Hideo Hamamura of Japan in 2:18:22
- Apr 18 Dan Shapiro, and music by Sammy Fain's musical "Ankles Aweigh" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC; runs for 176 performances
- Apr 19 The German automaker Volkswagen, after six years of selling cars in the United States, founds Volkswagen of America in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey to standardize its dealer and service network
- Apr 20 "Saint of Bleecker St" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 92 performances
- Apr 21 Brooklyn Dodgers win, then record 10th straight game to begin a season
- Apr 21 J Lawrence & R E Lee's "Inherit the Wind" premieres in NYC
- Apr 21 Minas Gerais Argentina tunnel caves in; 30 die
- Apr 22 KC Athletic's 1st game, beat Tigers 6-2
- Apr 23 Robert Wright and George Forrest's musical "Kismet" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 583 performances
- Apr 24 Conference of Bandung against colonialism and for self determination, ends
- Apr 24 Gaullists lose elections in France
- Apr 24 KFDM TV channel 6 in Beaumont, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 24 KMAU (now KGMV) TV channel 3 in Wailuku, HI (CBS) begins broadcasting
In the Wee Small Hours
Apr 25 Captiol Records releases "In the Wee Small Hours", the ninth studio album by American vocalist Frank Sinatra; collection of melancholy ballads with arrangements by Nelson Riddle was an early example of a concept album and helped popularize the 12-inch format for non-classical recordings
- Apr 28 WBIQ TV channel 10 in Birmingham, Alabama (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 29 Giovanni Gronchi elected third President of Italy
- Apr 30 Cuban bandleader Pérez Prado's mambo version of "Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White" goes #1 for 10 weeks
- Apr 30 Element atomic number 101, Mendelevium, announced
- Apr 30 Imperial Bank of India nationalized
- Apr 30 West German unions protest for 40-hour work week & higher wages
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists