April 14
April 14 is the 105th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 261 days remain until the year's end. It falls in spring (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Aries.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On April 14 the Sun's declination is approximately +9.4°. At this latitude the Sun is north of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere longer days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a April 14.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
No widely-observed holidays catalogued for this day in our base set. See the external almanacs above for region-specific observances.
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
1865 — U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. ↗(161 years ago)more
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was shot at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., one month into his second term and towards the conclusion of the American Civil War.
1894 — The first commercial motion-picture parlour opened in New York City. ↗(132 years ago)more
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device, designed for films to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole viewer window. The Kinetoscope was not a movie projector, but it introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic projection before the advent of video: it created the illusion of movement b...
1912 — The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 p.m. ↗(114 years ago)more
RMS Titanic was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the 2,208 passengers and crew aboard, approximately 1,500 died, making the incident one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of a single ship.
1981 — The first U.S. Space Shuttle, Columbia, completed its first orbital flight (STS-1) and landed. ↗(45 years ago)more
STS-1 was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on April 12, 1981, and returned on April 14, 1981, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times. Columbia carried a crew of two—commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen.
Notable births
1629 — Christiaan Huygens, Dutch astronomer who discovered Saturn's rings. ↗(397 years ago)more
Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who is regarded as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution. In physics, Huygens made seminal contributions to optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he studied the rings of Saturn and discovered its largest moon, Titan.
1977 — Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress. ↗(49 years ago)more
Sarah Michelle Prinze is an American actress. She is known for portraying strong female characters in film and television, and is regarded as a scream queen for her work in the horror genre.
Notable deaths
1925 — John Singer Sargent, American painter. ↗(101 years ago)more
John Singer Sargent was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Belle Époque and Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (105) | 3 × 5 × 7 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (261) | 3^2 × 29 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 14042026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | +9.41° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 67 days |