What Happened on April 1?

April 1 is April Fools' Day — a worldwide tradition of playful pranks — on the same date Apple Computer was founded, Gmail launched, and the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage.

• 1918 — The Royal Air Force is founded as the world's first independent air force

  On April 1, 1918, Britain merged its army and navy flying corps into the Royal Air Force — the first air force organized as its own military branch. Read the full story →

• 1954 — President Eisenhower establishes the U.S. Air Force Academy

  President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law on April 1, 1954, creating the United States Air Force Academy to train officers for the Air Force — the first new U.S. service academy since 1825. Read the full story →

• 1976 — Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer

  On April Fools' Day 1976, two friends signed a partnership agreement in a California garage — starting the company that would later create the Macintosh, iPod, and iPhone. Read the full story →

• 2000 — The first International Edible Book Festival is held

  Book artists Judith Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron launched Edible Book Day in 2000 — inviting people worldwide to make, display, and eat food shaped like books every April 1. Read the full story →

• 2001 — The Netherlands becomes the first country to legalize same-sex marriage

  On April 1, 2001, the Netherlands' marriage law took effect — the first nation in the world to grant same-sex couples full legal marriage rights. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Debbie Reynolds (1932–2016) · Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) · Toshiro Mifune (1920–1997) · Asa Butterfield (1997)

Days & observances

April Fools' Day · International Edible Book Day · National One Cent Day · National Sourdough Bread Day