1918 Notable Births April 22

William Jay Smith, American poet and academic (died 2015)

Name: William Jay Smith, American poet and academic (died 2015)
Start: 1918

On April 22, in the year 1918, William Jay Smith, American poet and academic (died 2015). This event is recorded as a Notable Births event in the history of April 22, one of 297 recorded events on this date across all of history.

1 notable person is associated with this event, including William Jay Smith. Learn more below.

William Jay Smith was an American poet. He was appointed the nineteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1968 to 1970.

Key Facts

This event took place on April 22, 1918 (AD era).
It is categorised as a Notable Births event in recorded history.
Referenced in 1 Wikipedia article.
1 notable person is recorded as involved in or associated with this event.
Wikipedia source last updated on 7 November 2025.

On This Date in History 297

Type	Year	Date	Event
Historical Events	2025	Apr 22	At least 26 people are killed in a terrorist attack on a group of tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir
Notable Deaths	2023	Apr 22	Len Goodman, English ballroom dancer and television personality (born 1944)
Notable Deaths	2022	Apr 22	Guy Lafleur, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1951)
Selected Events	2022	Apr 22	American climate activist Wynn Bruce set himself on fire outside the United States Supreme Court Building in an apparent
Notable Deaths	2021	Apr 22	Adrian Garrett, American professional baseball player (born 1943)
Historical Events	2020	Apr 22	Four police officers are killed after being struck by a truck on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne while speaking to a sp
Notable Deaths	2020	Apr 22	Shirley Knight, American actress (born 1936)
Selected Events	2020	Apr 22	A truck struck and killed four Victoria Police officers on the Eastern Freeway, Australia, the force's deadliest single
Notable Deaths	2017	Apr 22	Donna Leanne Williams, Australian writer, artist, and activist (born 1963)
Historical Events	2016	Apr 22	The Paris Agreement is signed, an agreement to help fight global warming
Selected Events	2016	Apr 22	The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, opened for signature and was signed by 175 parties
Notable Deaths	2015	Apr 22	Dick Balharry, Scottish environmentalist and photographer (born 1937)
Notable Deaths	2014	Apr 22	Oswaldo Vigas, Venezuelan painter (born 1926)
Notable Deaths	2013	Apr 22	Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941)
Notable Deaths	2013	Apr 22	Lalgudi Jayaraman, Indian violinist and composer (born 1930)
Notable Deaths	2013	Apr 22	Robert Suderburg, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1936)
Selected Events	2013	Apr 22	The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested two men who were plotting to commit terrorist attacks against Via Rail operat
Notable Deaths	2012	Apr 22	George Rathmann, American chemist, biologist, and businessman (born 1927)
Notable Births	2011	Apr 22	Violet McGraw, American actress
Notable Deaths	2010	Apr 22	Richard Barrett, American lawyer and activist (born 1943)
Notable Deaths	2009	Apr 22	Jack Cardiff, British cinematographer, director and photographer (born 1914)
Notable Deaths	2007	Apr 22	Juanita Millender-McDonald, American educator and politician (born 1938)
Notable Deaths	2006	Apr 22	Henriette Avram, American computer scientist and academic (born 1919)
Notable Deaths	2006	Apr 22	Alida Valli, Italian actress (born 1921)
Historical Events	2005	Apr 22	Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan's war record
Notable Deaths	2005	Apr 22	Erika Fuchs, German translator (born 1906)
Notable Deaths	2005	Apr 22	Philip Morrison, American physicist and academic (born 1915)
Notable Deaths	2005	Apr 22	Eduardo Paolozzi, Scottish sculptor and artist (born 1924)
Selected Events	2004	Apr 22	Flammable cargo exploded at a railway station in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing at least 54 people and injuring more th
Notable Deaths	2003	Apr 22	Felice Bryant, American songwriter (born 1925)
Selected Events	2000	Apr 22	In a pre-dawn raid, U
Notable Deaths	1999	Apr 22	Munir Ahmad Khan, Pakistani nuclear engineer (born 1926)
Notable Deaths	1996	Apr 22	Erma Bombeck, American journalist and author (born 1927)
Notable Deaths	1996	Apr 22	Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect (born 1908)
Notable Deaths	1995	Apr 22	Jane Kenyon, American poet and author (born 1947)
Notable Deaths	1994	Apr 22	Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (born 1913)
Historical Events	1993	Apr 22	Eighteen-year-old Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Well Hall, Elth
Selected Events	1993	Apr 22	Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager, was murdered while waiting for a bus in Eltham, London, leading to cultural
Historical Events	1992	Apr 22	A series of gas explosions rip through the streets in Guadalajara, Mexico, killing 206
Notable Births	1992	Apr 22	Adam Lanza, American mass murderer (died 2012)
Notable Births	1991	Apr 22	Danni Wyatt, English cricketer
Notable Births	1990	Apr 22	Machine Gun Kelly, American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor
Notable Births	1990	Apr 22	Kevin Kiermaier, American baseball player
Notable Births	1990	Apr 22	Eve Muirhead, Scottish curler
Notable Deaths	1990	Apr 22	Albert Salmi, American actor (born 1928)
Notable Deaths	1989	Apr 22	Emilio G
Notable Births	1988	Apr 22	Dee Strange-Gordon, American baseball player
Notable Deaths	1988	Apr 22	Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer and academic (born 1917)
Notable Deaths	1988	Apr 22	Irene Rich, American actress (born 1891)
Notable Births	1987	Apr 22	David Luiz, Brazilian footballer