Henry III, also known as Henry the Black is crowned Co-King of Germany, on Easter Day, April 14, 1028, at age 11, in the Cathedral of Aachen by Pilgrim, Archbishop of Cologne to ensure a smooth transition of power. Upon the death of his father on 4 June 1039 he became sole ruler of the kingdom and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II in Rome in 1046.
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On This Day in History: April 14
Explore the historical events that shaped our world on April 14th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Baldwin of Bourcq, was crowned Baldwin II King of Jerusalem, on Easter Sunday, April 14, 1118, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, succeeding his cousin Baldwin I. He was known as a warrior-king and focused on expanding the kingdom while defending against Seljuk and Fatimid invasions. He also established the military order of the Knights Templar.
He died on August 21, 1131, passing the throne to his daughter, Queen Melisende.
King Edward IV of England, (House of York), decisively defeats the Lancastrian forces, led by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick on April 14, 1471, at the Battle of Barnet during the Wars of the Roses. The victory and the death of Warwick, effectively restored Edward to the throne after his short exile.
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot on April 14, 1865, on the back of the head at point-blank range as he watched a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington DC. The President was carried across the street to the Petersen House a private home, where he died nine hours later, early the following morning.
The assassin, American actor. John Wilkes Booth escaped but was pursued by Union soldiers for twelve days through southern Maryland and Virginia, and died of a gunshot wound on April 26 after refusing to surrender to Federal troops. The murder of President Abraham Lincoln was part of a pre-planned, coordinated attack on the president, Vice President Andrew Johnson and the Secretary of State. More
J. C. Penney opened his first store, on April 14, 1902. The store was named "Golden Rule", reflecting Penney's philosophy of treating his customers fairly and with honesty. Located in Kemmerer, Wyoming, it provided the foundation for the J.C Penney brand which was incorporated in 1913 after he bought out his two partners.
JCPenney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2020 due to unsustainable debt, declining mall traffic, intense e-commerce competition, and pandemic-related closures. Its failure to adapt to modern retail trends led to dwindling sales. The company was purchased by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, and continues to operate.As of April 2026, it has over 640 stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
In what came to be known as “Black Sunday” and “The Dust Bowl”, on April 14, 1935, high winds kicked up clouds of millions of tons of dirt, dark and dense, sweeping it across the High Plains; quickly turning a warm, sunny afternoon into a blackness, darker than the darkest night. More
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 is signed by President Lyndon Johnson on April 14, 1966. The act mandated standard time within the established time zones and provided for Day Light Savings time (DST).
Clocks would be advanced one hour beginning at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday in April (Currently the second Sunday of March) and turned back one hour at 2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday in October (currently the first Sunday in November). States were allowed to exempt themselves from DST as long as the entire state did so. If a state chose to observe DST, the time changes were required to begin and end on the established dates. As of 2026, DST is not observed in the U.S. States of Hawaii, most of Arizona and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
The United States launches air strikes against Libya on April 14, 1986 in retaliation for the Libyan sponsorship of terrorism against American troops and citizens in multiple locations. The raid, involved hundred of US planes. Several military targets and “terrorism centers” were hit, including the headquarters of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.
The Geneva Accords to settle the situation relating in Afghanistan, were signed on April 14, 1988 at the Geneva headquarters of the United Nations, between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the United States and the Soviet Union serving as guarantors. Leading to the complete withdrawal of the Soviet Army in February 1988.
The Afghan resistance, or mujahideen, were neither party to the negotiations nor to the Geneva accords and so refused to accept the terms of the agreement. After the signing of the Geneva accords, the 40th Soviet Army conducted a well-planned and executed nine-month withdrawal. The last Soviet soldier crossed the Freedom Bridge on 15 February 1989. More
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I formally accepted, on April 14, 2004, Pope John Paul II’s apology, for the 1204 sacking of Constantinople by Crusader armies during the Fourth Crusade. Accepting the apology during a liturgy, Bartholomew noted that "the spirit of reconciliation is stronger than hatred".
The acceptance was seen as a major step toward Catholic-Orthodox reconciliation. The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) never reached the Holy Land and instead ended with Christians attacking other Christians. In addition to the apology, Pope John Paul II later returned sacred relics of two Constantinopolitan archbishops that had been held in Rome since the 1204 sack.
The eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano intensifies on April 14, 2010, sending a massive ash plume into the atmosphere, posing a significant danger to Jet aircraft engines and causing the largest closure of airspace in Europe since World War II, disrupting travel for millions of passengers and cargo flights for more than a week.
Bjarki Sigursveinsson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The extremist group Boko Haram abducts 276 schoolgirls on April 14, 2014 from the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria, leading to international outrage.