[[File:Holland (SSl). Starboard bow, on ways, 1900 - NARA - 512954.tif|thumb|200px|right|April 11, 1900: U.S. Navy acquires its first submarine, USS Holland'’]]
April 1900 was the fourth month of that exceptional common year. It began on a Sunday and ended after 30 days on a Monday.
The following events occurred in April 1900:
April 1, 1900 (Sunday) Bayern Munich played its first game, defeating the MTV 1879 club, 7–1. RWE AG, Germany's largest electrical power company, began supplying electricity, starting with the city of Düsseldorf.
April 2, 1900 (Monday) The associate degree was created by the University of Chicago, and granted to fifteen students who had completed their freshman and sophomore years. Meeting at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, the Automobile Club of America announced its plans to push for the construction of a transcontinental road to run from New York City to San Francisco.
April 3, 1900 (Tuesday) Admiral George Dewey, hero of the Spanish–American War, announced his candidacy for President of the United States, bringing the cancellation of a celebrated tour of the United States. In an exclusive interview with the New York World, Dewey made the mistake of saying, "I am convinced that the office of the president is not a very difficult one to fill, his duties mainly to execute the laws of congress." Dewey withdrew his candidacy the next month, after revealing that he had never voted in an election. The United States Senate passed the Foraker Act, providing for the government of Puerto Rico, 49–31, and sent the measure to the House of Representatives, which approved it 161–153. Born: Camille Chamoun, Lebanese state leader, second President of Lebanon; in Deir al-Qamar, Ottoman Empire (d. 1987)
April 4, 1900 (Wednesday) In Brussels, an assassin fired two shots at the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) as the Prince's railroad car was preparing to leave Brussels-North railway station for Copenhagen. Identified as a 16-year-old Jean-Baptiste Sipido, the would-be killer, protesting against the Second Boer War, jumped upon the footboard of the carriage and fired through the window, but missed. Sipido was tried and acquitted, and lived until 1959. The Convention Hall in Kansas City, which was three months away from hosting the Democratic Convention, was destroyed in a fire that consumed the building in 30 minutes. Queen Victoria visited her subjects in Dublin, Ireland (at the time, a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland) after landing the night before at Kingstown on the yacht Victoria and Albert. At Reddersburg in South Africa, Boer troops led by General Christiaan de Wet forced the surrender of the Royal Irish Rifles after a 24-hour battle, taking 546 prisoners.
April 5, 1900 (Thursday)
The patent application for the first mercury-vapor lamp, now commonplace in street lights around the world because of its longevity and luminescence, was filed by American inventor Peter Cooper Hewitt. U.S. Patent No. 682,692 would be granted on September 17, 1901. Olga Nethersole was acquitted by a jury of charges of public nuisance, arising from the performance of the play Sapho. Two days later, Sapho was being presented again on Broadway for 55 more performances. The Irish Guards were created by command of Queen Victoria to commemorate the bravery of Irish forces in South Africa. Born: Spencer Tracy, American actor, recipient of two consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actor for Captains Courageous and Boys Town; in Milwaukee (d. 1967)
April 6, 1900 (Friday) World heavyweight boxing champion Jim Jeffries retained his title in a bout that lasted only 55 seconds. In Detroit, challenger Jack Finnegan was TKO'd less than a minute into the first round, a record that still stands. Finnegan, who was outweighed by Jeffries 250 pounds to 180, got up after each of three knockdowns before the towel was thrown in. In 1988, Mike Tyson would KO Michael Spinks in 91 seconds, the last heavyweight title fight to be decided in the first round. The city of Havana, Cuba banned the playing of African drums, a prohibition that remained in effect until 1940, when conga drums again became part of Cuban music. Kentucky's highest court declared J. C. W. Beckham to be the Governor, ruling against William S. Taylor. Taylor had been sworn in as Governor earlier in the year after being certified the winner of the 1899 state election, but a lower court ruled William Goebel to be the winner. Goebel was assassinated, and Lt. Governor Beckham was sworn in during February.