Historical Events on April 1

April Fools' Day

Here are some historical events that took place on April 1st:

1700 - English pranksters begin popularizing April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each

other.

1789 - The U.S. House of Representatives holds its first full meeting in New York City and declares that the Constitution is in effect.

1853 - Cincinnati, Ohio, is chartered as a city.

1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks - In Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.

1873 - The British White Star steamship RMS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in the worst marine disaster of the 19th century.

1889 - The first dishwashing machine is marketed (in Chicago).

1918 - The Royal Air Force is established by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

1924 - Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch." However, he serves only eight months, during which time he writes "Mein Kampf."

1933 - 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.

1945 - World War II: U.S. troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.

1946 - An earthquake near the Aleutian Islands creates a tsunami that strikes the Hawaiian Islands, resulting in over 170 deaths.

1954 - The U.S. Air Force Academy is established in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1970 - President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, banning cigarette advertising on television and radio.

1976 - Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.

1984 - Marvin Gaye is shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gay Sr., a day before his 45th birthday.

2001 - Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first country to grant this right.

2004 - Google Inc. introduces Gmail to the public.

2013 - Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union.

2022 - France outlaws sex with children under age 15, with penalties including up to 20 years in prison for sex with a minor under age 13.

These are just a few events from history that occurred on April 1st!