April 13th - 19th
On 13th April…
1919 - The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre also known as the Massacre of Amritsar took place in a city called Amritsar in India. The Jallianwala Bagh is an enclosed garden area close to the Golden temple complex in Amritsar. It is sealed off by walls with only one exit. Over 10,000 people had gathered there, some to celebrate the spring festival of Baisakhi and some to protest rulings enforced during World War I. In the days leading up to this moment there had been violent protests about the arrest of Indian leaders; soldiers had had to fire rounds on angry mobs that had looted and burnt buildings, severely beaten a Christian missionary, and killed several foreign nationals. On 13th April 1919, without warning, British soldiers opened fire on the gathering crowds at Jallianwala Bagh killing about 380 people and injuring over 1,000 more. Not long after this Mohandas Gandhi began his non-violent protest campaign for Indian Independence.
2003 - Paula Radcliffe set a women’s world record in the London Marathon completing the race in 2 hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds. This record has since been beaten a few times, the most recent in 2024 by Ruth Chepngetich who ran the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours 09 minutes and 56 seconds.
On 14th April…
King Edward IV won the Battle of Barnet
1471 - The War of the Roses continued with the Battle of Barnet. House Lancaster headed by the Earl of Warwick, a former friend and ally of the king, led an army of 15,000 men against the 10,000 men led by King Edward IV of House York. The Earl of Warwick was killed in the battle which lasted about four hours, leaving King Edward IV victorious.
1912 – The Titanic struck an iceberg shortly before midnight, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. The ship sank just hours later killing over 1,500 passengers and crew.
On 15th April…
1912 - Just five days after leaving Southampton on its maiden voyage, the luxury ocean-liner, Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg 400 miles from the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. Of the 2,200 passengers and crew, about 1,500 died.
1941 - Two hundred German bombers destroyed the Irish city of Belfast during the Belfast Blitz. Bombs hit half of the houses in the city killing about 1,000 people, injuring about 1,500, and leaving over 100,000 homeless. It was the worst wartime raid outside of London in the UK.
On 16th April…
The Battle of Culloden
1746 - The Battle of Culloden took place on Drummossie Moor, overlooking Inverness in Scotland. It was the final battle fought during the Jacobite Rebellion in an attempt to reinstate a Stuart king to the British throne. Being the grandson of the deposed King James VII and II, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) believed the British throne was his father’s birth right and led the Jacobite forces in an attempt to overthrow King George II. His failure led to a complete change in the infrastructure and communities of the Scottish Highlands.
On 17th April…
King Richard II listened to the Canterbury Tales
1397 - Geoffrey Chaucer read his Canterbury Tales aloud to King Richard II possibly at his royal court in Portchester, Hampshire. The Canterbury Tales are a collection of 24 stories about pilgrims from all backgrounds in society travelling to Canterbury on pilgrimage and telling stories to each other. The tales were enormously popular in Medieval England.
On 18th April…
1881 - The Natural History Museum opened its doors for the first time in South Kensington, London. Have you been there to see the dinosaurs?
On 19th April…
1775 - In Lexington, Massachusetts USA, the American War of Independence against Britain began. Despite the last major battles being fought in 1781, the war was not formally ended until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783; this was when Britain officially recognised America’s independence.