April 1919

[April 1], 1919 (Tuesday)

• Battle for the Donbass – The Ninth Red Army counterattacked the White armies in the Donbas region.
• Battle of Bolshie Ozerki – A Red Army force of 7,000 men attacked a defending Allied force of 2,000 at the village of Bolshie Ozerki near the port of Onega, Russia, but were held back by artillery and machine gun fire.
• About 160,000 miners in the Ruhr of Germany went on strike.
• Fifty-two members of Sinn Féin attended the second meeting of Dáil Éireann. Seán T. O'Kelly was elected Ceann Comhairle and Éamon de Valera was elected President of Dáil Éireann.
• The University of Hamburg was established, with doors officially opening on May 10.
• The military charity RAF Benevolent Fund was established by Chief of the Air Staff Hugh Trenchard to support serving and former members of the Royal Air Force.
• The Silesian Workers Newspaper was first published Breslau, Germany to be the organ for the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany.
• Football clubs were established in the following cities: Slovan Bratislava in Bratislava, Slovakia, and Lübeck in Lübeck, Germany.
• The municipality of Palakollu was established in Andhra Pradesh, India.
• The borough of Waldwick, New Jersey was established.
• Pondera County, Montana was established with its county seat in Conrad.
• Born:
• * Joseph Murray, American surgeon, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for performing the first successful kidney transplant; in Milford, Massachusetts, United States
• * Jeannie Rousseau, French intelligence officer, member of Operation Amniarix which collected intelligence on the V-1 and V-2 rocket programs, recipient of the Legion of Honour, Resistance Medal, and Croix de Guerre; in Saint-Brieuc, France
• * James MacLachlan, British air force pilot, commander of the No. 1 Squadron during World War II, recipient of the Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross, and War Cross; in Styal, England

  [April 2], 1919 (Wednesday)

• The Red Army occupied the Crimea, where it dissolved the Crimean Regional Government and replaced it with the Crimean Socialist Soviet Republic a month later.
• Battle of Bolshie Ozerki – An Allied counteroffensive against the Red Army at Bolshie Ozerki, Russia failed to dislodge the enemy's positions.
• Constance Markievicz was appointed Minister for Labour, becoming the first Irish female cabinet minister and the first in Western Europe.
• The Irish Republic government established the Department of Agriculture with Robert Barton as minister, and the Department of Local Government with W. T. Cosgrave as minister.
• Born: Delfo Cabrera, Argentine athlete, gold medalist at the 1948 Summer Olympics; in Armstrong, Santa Fe, Argentina

  [April 3], 1919 (Thursday)

• The Habsburg Law was passed that legally dethroned the House of Habsburg as the monarchy of Austria.
• The British government began releasing a group of "absolutist" conscientious objectors known as the Richmond Sixteen, named after Richmond Castle in Richmond, North Yorkshire, England where they had been imprisoned for disobeying orders to report to the Non-Combatant Corps of the British Army in 1916.
• A Farman Goliath carried 14 passengers to an altitude of 6,200 meters in a flight to publicize commercial air service.
• The Apostolic Vicariate of Nouvelle-Anvers was established in the Belgian Congo, on territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Léopoldville. It later became the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisala in 1959.
• Born:
• * Ervin Drake, American songwriter, known for hits "I Believe" and "It Was a Very Good Year"; as Ervin Maurice Druckman, in New York City, United States
• * John C. Meyer, American air force officer, 7th commander-in-chief of the Strategic Air Command, recipient of the three Distinguished Service Crosses, seven Distinguished Flying Crosses, 15 Air Medals and the Legion of Merit; in New York City, United States

  [April 4], 1919 (Friday)

• South African delegate Jan Smuts visited Hungary and told its soviet government that if the government operated with the guidelines set down at the Paris Peace Conference, the Allies would lift the blockade against the country. However, foreign minister Béla Kun refused the terms and negotiations ceased.
• The 58th Infantry Division of the British Army was disbanded along with its mortar brigade.
• Died:
• * Francisco Marto, 10, Portuguese peasant, claimed to witness apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1917 at Fátima, Portugal, canonized as a saint in 2017; died of Spanish flu
• * William Crookes, 86, British chemist and physicist, developer of the vacuum tube

  [April 5], 1919 (Saturday)

• Battle of Bolshie Ozerki – Weakened by casualties totaling 2,000 men, the Red Army withdrew from the village Bolshie Ozerki, allowing the Allies to eventually retreat from Arkhangelsk, Russia.
• Thirty-five Jews were executed without trial in Pinsk, Poland after being accused of organizing an illegal Bolshevik rally.
• The last of the British force involved in the Malleson mission left the Transcaspian region, bordering Russia. Soviet forces were eventually able to invade the region and take complete control by 1920.
• Two pilots with the French Air Force, who on January 26 made a double crossing of the Mediterranean Sea in a Bréguet airplane, made a flight from Lyon to Rome, and then to Nice in the same aircraft. The pair would fly the same plane later in the year and set a French flight distance record, flying from Le Bourget Airport in Paris to Kenitra, French Morocco.
• Former army officer Eugen Bircher established the far right Swiss Patriotic Federation to counter perceived unrest in Switzerland caused by immigration.
• Born:
• * Les Munro, New Zealand air force officer, commander of the No. 617 Squadron and member of Operation Chastise during World War II, recipient of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Distinguished Service Order, Distinguished Flying Cross and Legion of Honour; as John Leslie Munro, in Gisborne, New Zealand
• * Lester James Peries, Sri Lankan film-maker, known for films such as Line of Destiny, The Silent Heart, and Mansion by the Lake; in Dehiwala, British Ceylon

  [April 6], 1919 (Sunday)

• A Soviet rebellion led by German anarchists in Munich dissolved the People's State of Bavaria, and forced its leader Johannes Hoffmann to flee and establish a rival socialist government in Bamberg, Germany.
• Spring offensive of the White Army – The Western Army of the White Movement captured Sterlitamak, Russia on the Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War.
• The Irish Republican Army attempted to liberate member Robert Byrne, who was under arrest by the Royal Irish Constabulary in a Limerick hospital due to a hunger strike. The rescue attempt failed, resulting in the deaths of Byrne and a police officer. The same day, a police patrol was ambushed at Eyeries, Ireland and three officers were shot and wounded.
• The Māori Battalion for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force formally returned Auckland for a commemoration ceremony before it was disbanded.
• Italian cyclist Angelo Gremo won the 12th edition of the Milan–San Remo cycling race, completing the 286 km race route in 11 hours, 26 minutes.
• The Racing Club de Montevideo, a football club, was established in Montevideo.
• Born: Caren Marsh Doll, American actress, stand-in for Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz and Ziegfeld Girl; as Aileen Betty Morris, in Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States

  [April 7], 1919 (Monday)

• Anarchist writers Ernst Toller, Gustav Landauer and Erich Mühsam co-founded the Bavarian Soviet Republic, being later joined by essayist and debt relief advocate Silvio Gesell.
• Spring offensive of the White Army – The Western Army of the White Movement captured Belebey, Russia.
• Estonia held elections during the Estonian War of Independence, with the Estonian Social Democratic Workers' Party winning a majority of the seats of the Estonian Constituent Assembly.
• The 21st Aero Squadron of the United States Army Air Service was disbanded at Hazelhurst Field in Mineola, New York.
• The French Football Federation was established in Paris as the governing body of professional association football clubs in France and its overseas colonies.
• The Haugesund Naval Air Station was officially disbanded in Avaldsnes, Norway.
• The Original Dixieland Jazz Band introduced Dixieland jazz to England with a 15-month tour, starting with a performance at the Hippodrome in London.
• King Albert issued a royal decree that established the King Albert Medal to be awarded to Belgian citizens or foreigners that were involved in promoting or organizing charitable or humanitarian aid to Belgians during World War I.
• Born:
• * Al Lerner, American composer, known for his themes for the television talk how Tonight Starring Jack Paar and film scores such as The Eddy Duchin Story; in Cleveland, United States
• * Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer, six time gold medalist including the 1956 Summer Olympics and six-time silver medalist including the 1952 Summer Olympics; in Renate, Kingdom of Italy
• Died:
• * Virginia P. Bacon, 65-66, American art dealer, noted executor of the Edward R. Bacon art collection, granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt
• * Aureliano Blanquet, 69, Mexican army officer, key participant in the Ten Tragic Days in Mexico City; killed in action