- Apr 1 10th Tony Awards: "The Diary of Anne Frank" (play) & "Damn Yankees" (musical) win
- Apr 1 KPIC TV channel 4 in Roseburg, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 1 Violent clashes in Algeria, kills at least 380
Romanoff & Juliet
Apr 2 Peter Ustinovs' play "Romanoff & Juliet" premieres in Manchester
- Apr 2 Soap operas "As the World Turns" & "Edge of Night" premiere on TV
- Apr 3 Bulgarian vice premier Traitsjo Kostov rehabilitated (executed 1949)
- Apr 3 German war criminals Hinrichsen, Ruhl, Siebens and Viebahn freed
- Apr 3 Hudsonville-Standale Tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado
- Apr 4 Enid Bagnold's "Chalk Garden" premieres in London
- Apr 5 Ceylon's Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), led by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike wins the general elections in a landslide
- Apr 6 Polish communist Gomulka freed from prison
- Apr 7 10th NBA Championship: Despite 30 points from Pistons forward George Yardley, Philadelphia Warriors beat Fort Wayne, 99-88; Warriors wrap up series, 4-1
- Apr 7 France officially relinquished its protectorate in Morocco., Spain follows suit for regions of her protectorate in northern Morocco
- Apr 8 20th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Burke Jr. wins his first major title, 1 stroke ahead of amateur Ken Venturi; final Masters played without a 36-hole cut
- Apr 8 6 US Marine Corps recruits drown during a night "marsh march" in Ribbon Creek at Parris Island, South Carolina; drill instructor Staff Sergeant Matthew McKeon is court-martialed
- Apr 10 Philips broadcasts 1st Dutch color TV programs
Stanley Cup
Apr 10 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Jean Béliveau has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 for a 4-1 series win
- Apr 11 French government decides to send 200,000 reservists to Algeria
- Apr 11 Singer Nat Cole attacked on stage of Birmingham theater in racial incident
- Apr 12 S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike's government takes office in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
- Apr 13 KETA TV channel 13 in Oklahoma City, OK (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 14 Ampex Corp demonstrates 1st commercial videotape recorder
Silk Stockings
Apr 14 Cole Porter's final Broadway musical "Silk Stockings", loosely based on the Melchior Lengyel's "Ninotchka", closes at the Imperial Theatre, NYC, after 478 performances
- Apr 16 1st solar powered radios go on sale
- Apr 16 60th Boston Marathon won by Antti Viskari of Finland in race record 2:14:14
- Apr 17 Bulgaria premier Valko Chervenkov resigns
- Apr 17 Premium Savings Bonds introduced in Great Britain
- Apr 17 USSR's Cominform (Parliament) dissolves
- Apr 17 Willie Mosconi sinks 150 consecutive balls in a billiard tournament
- Apr 18 Egypt & Israel agree to a cease fire
- Apr 19 1st MLB baseball game in New Jersey - Brooklyn Dodgers beat Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City
Heartbreak Hotel
Apr 21 Elvis Presley's 1st hit record, "Heartbreak Hotel", becomes #1
- Apr 21 William Inge's stage drama "Bus Stop", closes at the Music Box Theater, NYC, after 478 performances
- Apr 24 AL umpire Frank Umont is 1st to wear glasses in a regular season game
South Sea Bubble
Apr 25 Noël Coward's musical "South Sea Bubble" premieres in London
- Apr 26 First modern container ship, the Ideal X, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas
Rocky Marciano Retires
Apr 27 Undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano, retires from the ring
Baseball Record
Apr 28 Cincinnati Reds outfielder Frank Robinson hits his 1st of 586 HRs
- Apr 28 Last French troops leave Vietnam
- Apr 29 WLUC TV channel 6 in Marquette, MI (CBS/NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
- Apr 29 WSPA TV channel 7 in G'ville-Spartanburg, SC (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Apr 29 WWBT TV channel 12 in Richmond, VA (NBC) begins broadcasting
Admirals
Aviators
Gangsters
Generals
Industrialists
Suffragists