1 April on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born

Roman emperor Diocletian names Maximian his co-emperor ("Augustus").

Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.

Alexios I Komnenos overthrows the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates, and, after his troops spend three days extensively looting Constantinople, is formally crowned on April 4.

Richard Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, was defeated by knights loyal to King Henry III of England at the Battle of the Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland.

Robert Winchelsey left England for Rome to be consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury, but a papal vacancy delayed the ceremony.

A band of warriors led by Niels Ebbesen killed Count Gerhard III, ending Holstein rule in Denmark.

Hundred Years' War: John, Duke of Normandy, laid siege to the town of Aiguillon.

In the Eighty Years' War, the Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Seventeen Provinces, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.

J. S. Bach's later Easter Oratorio in its first version is performed at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig on Easter Sunday.

In New York City, the United States House of Representatives achieves its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first Speaker.

The Convention of 1833, a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas to help draft a series of petitions to the Mexican government, begins in San Felipe de Austin.

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.

Singapore becomes a British crown colony.

The Duke of Buckingham opened the first section of the Brill Tramway, a short railway line to transport goods between his lands and the national rail network.

The White Star steamer SS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in one of the worst marine disasters of the 19th century.

The Inland Customs Line, established by the British for the collection of the salt tax in India, was abandoned.

Prince George becomes absolute monarch of the Cretan State.

The Territorial Force (renamed Territorial Army in 1920) is formed as a volunteer reserve component of the British Army.

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

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.

Under the South Seas Mandate, Japan set up a government in Koror, precipitating large-scale Japanese settlement in Palau.

Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years fortress confinement for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch" but spends only nine months in jail.

The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.

English cricketer Wally Hammond set a record for the highest individual score in Test cricket of 336 not out during a match against New Zealand.

The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.

India's central banking institution, the Reserve Bank of India, is formed.

Aden becomes a British crown colony.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force is formed as an independent service.

Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.

A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of 'Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.

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

World War II: Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.

World War II: The Tenth United States Army attacks the Thirty-Second Japanese Army on Okinawa.

The 8.6 Mw Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii.

The Malayan Union is established. Protests from locals led to the establishment of the Federation of Malaya two years later.

The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.

Cold War: Communist forces respond to the introduction of the Deutsche Mark by attempting to force the western powers to withdraw from Berlin.

Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark.

The Government of Canada repeals Japanese-Canadian internment after seven years.

Israel enacted a citizenship law, prior to which the country technically had no citizens.

United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The British Army's Mobile Defence Corps, intended to assist with civil defence after a nuclear attack, was established by royal warrant.

The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece.

The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the tenth novel of Ian Fleming's James Bond series, was released in the United Kingdom.

The British Admiralty, War Office and Air Ministry are replaced by a unified Defence Council of the United Kingdom.

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

A Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crashes near Berrechid, Morocco, killing 61.

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

The American Motors Corporation introduced its Gremlin, promoted as America's first subcompact car.

Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre more than a thousand people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.

Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.

A man ignited tires in the crater of Mount Edgecumbe, prompting a false eruption scare later revealed as an April Fools' hoax.

The Local Government Act 1972 of England and Wales comes into effect.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer, Inc.

Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.

Singer Marvin Gaye is shot to death by his father in his home in Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, California.

Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attack a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion.

Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), is introduced in Scotland.

The longest prison riot in British penal history began at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, lasting 25 days.

NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki is killed in a plane crash near the Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Blountville, Tennessee.

Comet Hale–Bopp is seen passing at perihelion.

Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.

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.

Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.

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

Google launches its Email service Gmail.

Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) of the Government of the United Kingdom is enforced, but later merged into National Crime Agency on 7 October 2013.

After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of fourteen people, including seven UN workers.

The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict begins along the Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact.

The Artemis II lunar flyby mission launches, marking the first crewed flight above low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire (died 1898)

Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2011)

Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (died 1997)

Milan Kundera, Czech-French novelist, poet, and playwright (died 2023)

Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (died 1970)

Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 2006)

William Harvey, English physician and academic (died 1657)

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1943)

Debbie Reynolds, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2016)

Susan Boyle, Scottish singer

Alexander Stubb, Finnish academic and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Finland and 13th President of Finland

Joseph de Maistre, French philosopher, lawyer, and diplomat (died 1821)

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Algerian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Sophie Germain, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (died 1831)

Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1929)

Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (died 1918)

Clarence Seedorf, Dutch-Brazilian footballer and manager

Edgar Wallace, English journalist, author, and playwright (died 1932)

Antoine François Prévost, French novelist and translator (died 1763)

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1347)

Joseph Murray, American surgeon and soldier, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2012)

Rachel Maddow, American journalist and author

Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1924)

Randy Orton, American wrestler

Asa Butterfield, English actor

Ali MacGraw, American model and actress

Logan Paul, American YouTuber, actor and wrestler

Wallace Beery, American actor (died 1949)

William James Sidis, Ukrainian-Russian Jewish American mathematician, anthropologist, and historian (died 1944)

Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1930)

Alberto Zaccheroni, Italian footballer and manager

Arrigo Sacchi, Italian footballer, coach, and manager

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

David Oyelowo, English actor

Abdul Qadeer Khan, Indian-Pakistani physicist, chemist, and engineer (died 2021)

Alain Connes, French mathematician and academic

Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Russian engineer, founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau (died 1989)

Anne McCaffrey, American-Irish author (died 2011)

Gábor Király, Hungarian footballer

Duván Zapata, Colombian footballer

Yılmaz Güney, Palme d'Or award-winning Kurdish film director, scenarist, actor, novelist and activist (died 1984)

Clementine Churchill, English wife of Winston Churchill (died 1977)

Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (died 1911)

Andreas Thorkildsen, Norwegian javelin thrower

Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and author (died 2011)

Annette O'Toole, American actress

Ruth Beitia, Spanish high jumper

Jane Powell, American actress, singer, and dancer (died 2021)

Helmut Duckadam, Romanian footballer (died 2024)

Gaston Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium (died 1988)

Vladimir Posner, French-American journalist and radio host

Ding Junhui, Chinese professional snooker player

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (died 1680)

Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (died 1272)

Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier and critic (died 1703)

Samuel R. Delany, American author and critic

Barry Sonnenfeld, American cinematographer, director, and producer

Brook Lopez, American basketball player

Octavian Goga, Romanian Prime Minister (died 1938)

Rolf Hochhuth, German author and playwright (died 2020)