April  

1        1918. The Royal Air Force was formed by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

2        1801. Victory for the British fleet over the Danish fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen. Nelson put his telescope to his blind eye thus ignoring the order of his commanding officer Admiral Parker.

3        1721. Robert Walpole became the first prime minister of Britain.

4        1581. Francis Drake returned from sailing around the globe to be knighted by Queen Elizabeth 1^st.

5        1955. Sir Winston Churchill resigned as prime minister.

6        1580. An earth tremor damaged the old St. Paul's Cathedral.

7        1827. Matches were sold for the first time in England by their inventor, John Walker.

8        1838. Isambard Brunel's steamship, the SS Great Britain, set off on its maiden voyage from Bristol to New York.

9        1770. Captain James Cook became the first European to arrive in Australia when he anchored in Botany Bay.

10    1633. Bananas were sold for the first time in England.

11    1855. Pillar boxes were used for the first time in England. They were painted green.

12    1606. The Union Flag (Jack) was adopted as the official flag of  England.

13    1668. English poet John Dryden became the first Poet Laureate.

14    1931. The Highway Code was published by the Ministry of Transport.

15    1912. The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg. Over 1500 people died.

16    1746. The "Young Pretender", Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated at the Battle of Culloden. The last battle on British soil.

17    1969. The voting age in the United Kingdom was reduced from 21 to 18.

18    1775. The American Revolution (War of Independence) began when Paul Revere rode from Boston to Lexington warning that "the British are  coming".

19    1587. Sir Francis Drake sank the Spanish fleet in Cadiz harbour. The incident was famously described as "singeing the King of Spain's beard".

20    1657. Admiral Robert Blake defeated the Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay, Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

21    1509. Henry 8^th became King of England.

22    1969. The sailor Robin Knox Johnston returned to Falmouth after his 312 day solo voyage around the world.

23    St. George's Day. Patron saint of England. Also, the birthday (1564) of the great English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare.

24    1916. The Easter Rising against British rule took place in Dublin. This ultimately led to independence for Southern Ireland.

25    1599. Oliver Cromwell was born.

26    1957. Patrick Moore presented the first broadcast of "The Sky at Night".

27    1296. King Edward 1^st defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar.

28    1789. The crew of the Bounty led by Fletcher Christian mutinied against Captain William Bligh.

29    1945. The Allies under British General Alexander accepted the surrender of the German Army in Italy.

30    1979. The Jubilee Line on the London Underground was officially opened.

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