April 3

• Daylight Savings Time Begins : United States

April 4

• Respect for Ancestors Day (Ch'ing-ming): China - This is also called Cold Food Day. It is the only traditional Chinese day celebrated according to the solar calendar. This is a day for paying homage to one's ancestors by visiting graves and leaving flowers and food.

April 5

• Booker T. Washington (1856–1915): African American - Educator. Organizer and first director of the Normal and Industrial Institute for Negroes at Tuskegee, Alabama (later Tuskegee Institute), Washington became the nation's foremost advocate of education for African Americans. His cautious and conciliatory approach to race relations was criticized by W. E. B. Du Bois and other leaders who urged more active efforts to achieve civil and political rights for Black Americans.

April 6

• Chakri Day: Thailand - This day commemorates the founding of the present dynasty by King Rama I (1782–1809).
• Day after Ch´ing-ming: Hong Kong/Taiwan
• Tartan Day: United States - Tartan Day was established by an act of Congress in 1998 to recognize the role Scottish Americans played in the founding of the nation and to acknowledge the many contributions that have been made by people of Scottish ancestry. Some notable Americans of Scottish descent include John Witherspoon, who served in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, and was president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University); Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first secretary of the treasury and leader of the Federalist Party; Andrew Carnegie, the great industrialist and philanthropist; Woodrow Wilson, the twenty-eighth president of the United States; and Sir Alexander Fleming, the bacteriologist who discovered penicillin. Tartan Day also commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence, on April 6, 1320.

April 7

• François Dominique Toussaint-Louverture (c. 1743–1803): Haitian - Military and political leader. Born a slave on the island of Saint-Domingue, a French colony (later called Haiti), Toussaint-Louverture became the leader of his country's independence movement. As a guerrilla leader of insurgent slaves, Toussaint-Louverture sided with the French Republic in 1793 when other rebel leaders supported Spain's war against France. Appointed lieutenant governor of the colony, he succeeded in driving out the Spanish and the British. In 1801, defying Napoleon's orders, he freed the slaves on the island and established an independent government with himself at its head. After an invasion by French troops, he was removed from office, then arrested and imprisoned in Switzerland, where he died in captivity on this date in 1803.

April 8

• Ramón Emeterio Betances (1827–1898): Puerto Rican - Physician, writer, and revolutionary leader. Betances studied medicine in Paris and lived there most of his life, working from exile for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and the abolition of slavery while writing fiction, journalism, and translations from Latin. His "Ten Commandments of Free Men," issued on November 4, 1867, while he was living on the island of St. Thomas, sets forth the ideals of political and social justice to which he dedicated his life.
• Dennis Chávez (1888–1962): Mexican American - Legislator. A Democrat from New Mexico, Chávez served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1931 to 1935, when he was appointed to a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Elected in his own right in 1936, he won reelection four times, serving until his death. During his career he championed bills to benefit American Indians and Puerto Ricans, and as a founder and later member of the federal Fair Employment Practices Commission, worked to outlaw racial discrimination in the workplace.

April 9

• Chandler Hovey, Jr. (?–1998): American - Lawyer and sailor. A lawyer until his retirement from a New York investment banking firm, Hovey and his family had a long association with sailboat competition, particularly the America's Cup. This involvement continued even after Hovey began to suffer from multiple sclerosis in 1947. He used crutches during sailing trials competition, and in 1995 the Independence Cup, the national trophy for the disabled, was named in his honor. This is the date of his death.
• Paul Robeson (1898–1976): African American - Singer and actor. A bass-baritone, Robeson won international acclaim for concert performances of classical works, spirituals, and folk songs, and for stage performances, particularly in the title role of Shakespeare's Othello.
• Valor Day: Philippines - This marks the anniversary of the forced march to a prison camp of 70,000 Americans and Filipinos captured on Bataan in 1942 by the Japanese. Only 54,000 prisoners survived the march; 7,000–10,000 died and the rest escaped into the jungle.

April 11

• Anniversary of the Battle of Rivas: Costa Rica

April 13

• Samuel Beckett (1906–1989): Irish - Playwright and novelist. The winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize for literature, Beckett is best known for his novels and plays in which characters are confronted with mysterious situations in bizarre, timeless settings.
• Founding of the University of Mexico (1551): Mexico - The University of Mexico was the first university to be founded in the Western Hemisphere.
• New Year: Cambodia, Laos - The celebration continues through April 15.

April 14

• Pan American Day: Latin America - Pan American Day has been observed each year since 1931 on April 14 by the twenty-one American republics. The day honors the bonds of friendship between the United States and the nations of Latin America.

April 15

• A(sa) Philip Randolph (1889–1982): African American - Labor leader and civil rights activist. Randolph organized the first major union of African American workers, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, in 1925 and became its first president. Throughout his long life he was a leader in the movement to improve job opportunities and working conditions for African Americans. He was one of the chief organizers of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

April 16

• José de Diego (1866–1918): Puerto Rico - Attorney, poet, and patriot. A day honoring this eloquent orator and accomplished poet José de Diego wrote and spoke in support of the independence of his homeland. He served as Secretary of Justice in the short-lived government of 1897, after Spain had granted autonomy to the island and before the United States re-imposed its governance. He later became first president of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives. As a prominent political figure, he opposed the Jones Act establishing Puerto Rico as a commonwealth of the United States.

April 18

• Founder's Day: Vietnam - This day commemorates the founding of the Vietnamese nation by King Hung Vuong around 1000 B.C.E.
• Independence Day: Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe, formerly called Rhodesia, gained independence from Great Britain on this day in 1980.

April 19

• Glenn Seaborg (1912–1999): Scandinavian American - Scientist and governmental advisor. Although a chemist by training, Dr. Seaborg did much of his work in nuclear physics, leading the research that created nine artificial elements, including plutonium. In 1951, he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for these achievements. Dr. Seaborg became the director of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and remained emeritus director after he retired. He was a scientific advisor to a number of presidents, serving as chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission for 10 years. He also served as chancellor of the University of California.

April 20

• Tito Puente (1923–2000): Puerto Rican - Musician and bandleader. A pioneer in bringing Latin music to the United States, he brought percussion to the center of his orchestral presentations with the Tio Puente Orchestra. He became known as the “Mambo King”. He also was a leader in fusing Latin rhythms with jazz and other forms of music. He recorded over 120 albums including Cuban Carnival, Mamborama, The Legend, and Tito Puente Live at Birdland Dancemania '99.

April 21

• Administrative Professionals Day: US
• First Day of Summer : Iceland - Iceland is the only country in the world that celebrates the first day of summer as a national holiday. According to the old Icelandic almanac, the year was divided into two seasons: winter and summer. Summer began in April, heralding the reappearance of the sun and marking the beginning of the growing season. After the long, dark winter, the first day of summer was a day of celebration throughout Iceland. The people of Iceland still celebrate this first day of “summer” by the giving of summer gifts, or sumargjafir. Festivities include parades, sporting events, and other entertainment.
• Tiradentes Day: Brazil - This commemorates the execution on this day in 1792 of Jose da Silva Xavier, a leader of the revolt against Portugal.

April 22

• J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967): Jewish American - Physicist. A pioneer in the field of atomic energy, Oppenheimer was director of the Los Alamos laboratory where the first atomic bomb was developed during World War II. Troubled by the use of science to produce weapons of mass destruction, Oppenheimer joined other scientists in refusing to work on developing the even more powerful hydrogen bomb.
• Take Our Children To Work Day: US
• Gathering of Nations Powwow: American Indian - (April 22-24) This three-day event, held annually at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, is the largest powwow in North America. More than five hundred tribes from Canada and the United States come every year to participate in this celebration of Native American culture, which features drum groups and ceremonial singing, chanting, and dancing in traditional dress. There are exhibitions of Native American artifacts and authentic Indian crafts for sale. The Gathering of Nations organization seeks to promote the traditions and culture of the American Indian people in the most positive manner possible and to dispel stereotypes created about the Indian people. The powwow provides educators with an opportunity to develop instructional materials on Indian history and culture for elementary and secondary schools.

April 23

• Respect for Ancestors Day (Thanh Minh): Vietnam - This is similar to the day in all other Asian cultures for paying respects to one's ancestors by visiting and decorating their graves.

April 24

• Genocide Memorial Day: Armenia - This day, also known as Armenian Martyrs Day, commemorates the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks in 1915–1916. Most Armenians living in the United States are the children or grandchildren of survivors of the genocide. This day has been chosen to commemorate this tragic event since on this day in 1915, many of Armenia's leading politicians, writers, and professionals in Constantinople were deported and/or killed.

April 25

• Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996): African American - Singer. Ella Fitzgerald, who was to win more Grammy Awards than any other jazz musician, began as a singer with Chick Webb and his band. She later sang with Dizzy Gillespie and became known for her improvisations and "scat" singing, playing with words and musical notes. She demonstrated expert taste in material. Her recorded songbooks of music by the Gershwins, Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, and others remain definitive. Lyricists loved to have her record their works; her razor sharpness guaranteed that every word would be meaningful. Composers loved her dedication to melody, and jazz musicians loved her improvisation. Along with Billie Holiday, she is generally considered to be one of the greatest female jazz singers of her generation.
• Anzac Day: Australia and New Zealand - This is Australia's most important occasion of commemoration, marking the anniversary of the first major military action by Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during World War I. Services are held at dawn across the nation. Later in the day, former servicemen and women meet and join in special marches, rekindling memories of their experiences. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country, including observing one or two minutes of silence.
• Liberation Day: Italy - This commemorates the day in 1945 that Italy was liberated from German occupation during World War II.
• Liberation Day: Portugal - This commemorates the bloodless revolution in 1974 that overthrew the dictatorial regime of Antonío Salazar and the reestablishment of democracy.

April 27

• Administrative Professionals Day : United States
• Freedom Day: South Africa - This commemorates the day in 1994 when for the first time all South Africans had the right to vote.
• Independence Day: Sierra Leone - This day commemorates Sierra Leone's gaining independence from Great Britain in 1961.

April 28

• Ann Petry (1908–1997): African American - Writer. Born in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Ann Petry later married and moved to Harlem where she held a variety of jobs, including editor of the women's pages of The People's Voice, a weekly paper started by Adam Clayton Powell Jr. She published a story, "On Saturday, the Sirens at Noon", in The Crisis, the magazine of the NAACP, that was later expanded into a novel and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1946 as The Street. This novel was the first major literary work to focus on everyday life in Harlem. It achieved critical and popular acclaim, selling 1.5 million copies. This is the day of her death.
• Gathering of Nations Powwow : American Indian - This three-day event, held annually at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, is the largest powwow in North America. More than five hundred tribes from Canada and the United States come every year to participate in this celebration of Native American culture, which features drum groups and ceremonial singing, chanting, and dancing in traditional dress. There are exhibitions of Native American artifacts and authentic Indian crafts for sale. The Gathering of Nations organization seeks to promote the traditions and culture of the American Indian people in the most positive manner possible and to dispel stereotypes created about the Indian people. The powwow provides educators with an opportunity to develop instructional materials on Indian history and culture for elementary and secondary schools.
• Take Our Children To Work Day : United States

April 29

• Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington (1899–1974): African American - Composer, pianist, and jazz orchestra leader. A prolific composer and arranger and brilliant leader whose orchestra included some of the finest jazz soloists of his time, Ellington was one of the preeminent figures in jazz from the 1920s until his death. His compositions include such classic songs as "Mood Indigo" and "Satin Doll", and concert works on jazz themes.
• Golden Week (April 29–May 5): Japan - This is a period that incorporates Greenery Day on April 29, Constitution Day on May 3, Holiday for a Nation on May 3, and Children's Day on May 5. This is a period when children have vacation from school and many workers have time off.
• Greenery Day (Midori No Hi): Japan - This was originally the day to celebrate the birthday of the Showa Emperor, but it is now also celebrated as a day for fostering the planting of trees and other vegetation.
• Holy Friday (Great Friday) : Coptic Orthodox Christian, Eastern Orthodox Christian - Also known as Great Friday, this is the day Coptic Orthodox Christians and Eastern Orthodox Christians commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion.

April 30

• Queen's Day : Netherlands - Public holiday.