April 15, 1931: King Alfonso XIII of Spain quietly goes into exileApril 14, 1931: Prime Minister Alcalá Zamora proclaims the Second Spanish RepublicKingdom of SpainRepublic of Spain
The Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Glorious collided with the French ocean liner Florida in a dense fog about 60 miles off Gibraltar. Several crew members of the Florida were killed.[1]
Seventeen-year old female baseball pitcher Jackie Mitchell struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in succession during an exhibition game between the New York Yankees and minor league Chattanooga Lookouts. Mitchell became a national media sensation, although it was questioned whether Ruth and Gehrig were actually trying or were merely going along with the publicity stunt.[4][5]
Adolf Hitler accused Walter Stennes of plotting to violate the government's emergency dictatorship decree and issued an ultimatum to all SA members demanding they submit a written oath of allegiance by April 12 or face expulsion.[6]
Eight of the nine Scottsboro Boys were convicted and sentenced to death; a mistrial was declared for the ninth because of his youth. The executions were postponed pending court appeals.[8]
Prussian Police President Albert Grzesinski ordered the weekly newspaper of Der Stahlhelm banned for three months due to its attacks on the Prussian government.[16]
Died:Kahlil Gibran, 48, Lebanese artist, poet and writer, died from tuberculosis
Municipal elections were held in Spain. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the rule of King Alfonso XIII by electing republican candidates in 49 out of 50 provincial capitals.[18]
The trial of German serial killer Peter Kürten for nine murders, began in Düsseldorf. Kürten took the stand and admitted to the crimes, but explained that he had been driven to take revenge on society for the harsh treatment he received in prison while serving time for burglaries and assaults.[19] Kürten was found guilty on April 22 and would be executed on the guillotine on July 2.
Queen Victoria Eugenie and her family boarded a train and departed Spain to join Alfonso in exile. Even when passing through staunchly republican areas, large crowds of people cheered and applauded the procession.[23]
Died:Joe Masseria, 45, Sicilian-born American Mafia boss of New York's Morello Family Gang, was shot to death by two gunmen after being betrayed by his top lieutenant, Lucky Luciano
Dr. Harvey Cushing (1869–1939) performs his two thousandth verified brain tumor operation at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. The operation is filmed with two cameras and it is the only recording of Cushing's surgery skills.
Harlan County War: Special Deputy Sheriff Jessie J. Pace of the Harlan County, Kentucky Sheriff's Office was shot and killed at the Black Mine Coal Company, where a strike had been ongoing for two months.[28]
Died:Isabella, Princess of Asturias, 79, member of Spanish royalty and the aunt of the recently-deposed King Alfonso XIII, died days after electing to leave Spain to go into exile in France.
New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt vetoed a state bill which would have allowed physicians to prescribe medicinal liquor, explaining he was not unsympathetic to its purpose but that the bill was unworkable in its present form due its many "complicated and extravagant provisions".[36]
^Epting, Chris (2009). Roadside Baseball: The Locations of America's Baseball Landmarks. Santa Monica, California: Santa Monica Press. p. 174. ISBN978-1-59580-980-3.
^"Miss Earhart Sets Autogiro Record; Aviatrix Reaches 'Ceiling' on Second of Two Flights in Day— Barograph to Be Checked". The New York Times. April 9, 1931. p. 1.
^Scott, Michael (1985). The San Francisco Bay Area: A Metropolis in Perspective, 2nd Ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 226. ISBN978-0-520-05512-4.
^Steele, John (April 28, 1931). "Britain to Tax Land Values as Financial Cure". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1.
