On this day

April 1, 1941

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from April 1, 1941

Notable Births

Gideon Gadot

1941Gideon Gadot, Israeli journalist and politician (died 2012)[†]

Gideon Gadot was an Israeli journalist and politician who served as a member of the Knesset for Likud between 1984 and 1992.

Ajit Wadekar

1941Ajit Wadekar, Indian cricketer, coach, and manager (died 2018)[†]

Ajit Laxman Wadekar was an Indian international cricketer who played for the Indian national team between 1966 and 1974. Described as an "aggressive batsman", Wadekar made his first-class debut in 1958, before making his foray into international cricket in 1966. He batted at number three and was considered to be one of the finest slip fielders. Wadekar also captained the Indian cricket team which won series in the West Indies and England in 1971. The Government of India honoured him with the Arjuna Award (1967) and Padmashri (1972), India's fourth highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour Indian board can bestow on a former player.

Historical Events

1941Fântâna Albă massacre: Between two hundred and two thousand Romanian civilians are killed by Soviet Border Troops.[†]

The Fântâna Albă massacre took place on 1 April 1941 in Northern Bukovina when up to 200 civilians were killed by Soviet Border Troops as they attempted to cross the border from the Soviet Union to Romania near the village of Fântâna Albă, now Staryi Vovchynets in Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine. Although according to Soviet official reports, no more than 44 civilians were killed, but local witnesses assert a much higher toll, stating that survivors were tortured, killed, or buried in mass graves. Others were taken away to be tortured and killed at the hands of the NKVD, the Soviet secret police. The Romanian media generally claims exaggerated figures of 2,000 to 3,000 victims, sometimes also claiming, falsely, that the incident occurred during Easter. Some sources have referred to the massacre as "the Romanian Katyn".

1941 Iraqi coup d'état

1941A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of 'Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.[†]

The 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, also called the Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani coup or the Golden Square coup, was a nationalist coup d'état in Iraq on 1 April 1941 that overthrew the pro-British regime of Regent 'Abd al-Ilah and his Prime Minister Nuri al-Said and installed Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.