|
What happened in history on this day: April 8?
On April 8 in ...
- 217 - Caracalla [Marcus Aurelius Antoniius], Roman emperor (198-217), murdered at age 29.
- 1143 - John II Comnenus Emperor of Byzantium (1118-43), dies in an accident.
- 1143 - Beginning of the reign of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus.
- 1195 - Alexius III Angelus drives out brother Isaäk II as Byzantine emperor.
- 1341 - Francesco Petrarca crowned in Rome.
- 1364 - King Jean II the Good of France dies in prison in England at age 44.
- 1378 - Bartolomeo Prignano elected as Pope Urban VI.
- 1455 - Alfonso de Borgia elected as Pope Callistus III.
- 1460 - Birth of Ponce de León San Tervas de Campos Spain, Spanish conqueror/explorer, searched for fountain of youth, found Florida.
- 1492 - Lorenzo I de' Medici"il Magnifico" ruler of Florence (1469-92), dies.
- 1498 - Charles VIII King of France (1483-98), beheaded at age 27.
- 1500 - Battle at Novara; King Louis XII beats duke Ludovico Sforza.
- 1537 - Willem Aerts Flemish architect, dies.
- 1582 - Birth of Phienas Fletcher poet.
- 1605 - Birth of Louis de Vadder Flemish painter.
- 1605 - Birth of Philip IV king of Spain and Portugal (1621-65).
- 1614 - Birth of El Greco [Domenikos Theotokopoulos] Iráklion Crete Greece, painter (View of Toledo).
- 1629 - Willem Teellinck Dutch theologist/vicar, dies at age 50.
- 1642 - Birth of Gerard Callenbach Dutch Admiral.
- 1655 - Birth of Louis Willem I Margrave (Baden-Baden).
- 1689 - Charles Mordaunt is appointed first lord of the treasury of England.
- 1692 - Birth of Giuseppe Tartini Italy, violinist/composer (Trillo del Diavolo).
- 1695 - Birth of Johann C Günther writer.
- 1697 - Birth of Pierre Prowo composer.
- 1697 - Niels Juel Danish Admiral (Oland, Moen, Kjögebocht), dies at age 67.
- 1716 - Duke Karel Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin signs covenant with Russia and marries Czar Peter the Great's niece.
- 1726 - Birth of Lewis Morris Bronx New York, US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence).
- 1730 - First Jewish congregation in US consecrates synagogue, "Shearith Israel, New York City".
- 1731 - Birth of William Williams Lebanon Connecticut, US merchant (signed Declaration of Independence).
- 1741 - Birth of José B da Gama Portuguese poet (O Uraguai).
- 1759 - British troops chase French out of Masulipatam India.
- 1766 - First fire escape patented, wicker basket on a pulley and chain.
- 1775 - Birth of Adam A earl von Neipperg Austrian General/Napoleon's wife Marie lover.
- 1778 - Death of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst at age 76; Dutch founder (Teyler Museum).
- 1781 - Premiere of Mozart's violin sonata K379.
- 1783 - Catharina II of Russia annexes the Krim.
- 1801 - Soldiers riot in Bucharest, kill 128 Jews.
- 1802 - French Protestant church becomes state-supported and state-controlled.
- 1818 - Birth of Christaan IX; king of Denmark (1863-1906).
- 1820 - The Venus de Milo statue is discovered on Melos island, Greece.
- 1828 - Birth of George Baird Hodge; Brigadier General (Confederate Army).
- 1831 - Birth of Allard Pierson; Dutch theologiost/philosopher/art historian/poet.
- 1848 - Battle at Xaquixaguana, Peru: Pedro de la Gasca beats Gonzalo Pizarro.
- 1848 - First battle at Gioto: Sardinia-Piemonte beats Austrians.
- 1850 - Birth of William Henry Welch; US pathologist, founded John Hopkins.
- 1853 - Jan W Pieneman, historical painter (Battle at Waterloo), dies at age 73.
- 1859 - Birth of Edmund Husserl; German philosopher (founded Phenomenology).
- 1861 - Elisha G Otis, US elevator builder (Otis), dies at age 50.
- 1861 - Confederate authorities seize Dahlonega Mint in Georgia, CSA.
- 1862 - John D Lynde patents aerosol dispenser.
- 1864 - Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana; Federals routed by Confederate General Richard Taylor.
- 1867 - The first World's Fair is inaugurated in Paris, France.
- 1869 - American Museum of Natural History opens (New York City, New York).
- 1869 - Birth of Harvey Cushing; US neurosurgeon (blood pressure studies).
- 1875 - Birth of Albert I von Saksen-Coburg; king of Belgium (1909-34).
- 1879 - Khedive Ismael of Egypt fires French/British ministers.
- 1880 - Birth of Victor Schertzinger; composer/director (Uptown New York).
- 1887 - Birth of Walter Connolly in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; actor (Good Earth, 5th Avenue Girl).
- 1889 - Birth of Adrian Boult in Chester, England; conductor (BBC Symphony Orchestra).
- 1889 - Henry Jupp, cricket player (scored 63 on Test debut for England in 1877), dies.
- 1892 - Birth of Richard J Neutra; Austrian/US architect (Who Built America?).
- 1893 - Birth of Grace Cunard in Columbus, Ohio, USA; silent screen actress (Resurrection).
- 1893 - Birth of Henri Puvrez; Belgian sculptor (Sereniteit).
- 1893 - Birth of Mary Pickford AKA Gladys Louise Smith in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; actress (Poor Little Rich Girl, Daddy Long Legs).
- 1893 - The Critic reports that the ice cream soda is the US national drink.
- 1894 - Bankim C Chattopadhyaya, writer (Mrinalini, Anandamath), dies at age 55.
- 1895 - Birth of Bert I[ra] Gordon in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA; diector/producer (Empire of the Ants, Magic Sword, Amazing Colossal Man).
- 1897 - Birth of Herbert Eimert; German composer/musicologist (Glockenspiel).
- 1898 - Battle of Atbara River, Anglo-Egyptian forces crush 6,000 Sudanese.
- 1898 - Birth of Achiel H Acker; Belgian premier (1945-46, 1954-58).
- 1898 - Birth of Cecil [Maurice] Bowra; British classics expert (Greek experience).
- 1902 - Birth of Arthur Wellard; cricket player (big hitting Somerset and England batsman).
- 1902 - Birth of Josef Krips in Vienna, Austria; conductor (London Symphony 1954-63).
- 1902 - Sipyagain, Russian minister of interior/headed Secret Service, is assassinated.
- 1903 - Birth of Ilka Chase in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Masquerade Party, Trials of O'Brien).
- 1904 - Birth of John R Hicks; British economist (Nobel Prize 1972).
- 1904 - Great Britain and France sign Cordial Entente concerning colonial matter.
- 1904 - Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square (after the New York Times).
- 1905 - Birth of George Baxter in Paris, France; actor (Flying Saucer, Lili, Caged).
- 1905 - Birth of Hans Scherfig; Danish marxist/writer (Idealister, Frydenholm).
- 1905 - Birth of Helen B M Fennell Joseph; anti-apartheid writer (Side by Side).
- 1905 - Birth of Pierre Wigny; Belgian minister of Foreign affairs (1958-61).
- 1906 - Birth of Charles J B Jonckheere; Flemish poet/writer (Mirror of the Sea).
- 1908 - Birth of Neil Lawson; British high court judge.
- 1908 - Lord Herbert Henry Asquith succeeds Henry Campbell-Bannerman as British Prime Minister.
- 1910 - Birth of George Musso; NFL guard (Chicago Bears).
- 1910 - Birth of Wendell Bill; cricket player (New South Wales bat 1929-36 Century on debut 1930).
- 1911 - Birth of Melvin Calvin; US chemist (photosynthesis, Nobel Prize 1961).
- 1911 - Birth of Émile Michel in Cioran, Romania; writer (The Trouble With Being Born, Anathemas and Admirations).
- 1912 - Birth of Josef Gabcík in Czechoslovakia; WWII resistance fighter (attacked Reinhard Heydrich).
- 1912 - Birth of Sonja Henie in Oslo, Norway; ice skater (Olympics-gold-1928,1932,1936), actor.
- 1912 - Steamers collide in the Nile, drowning 200.
- 1913 - The 17th amendment to the US Constitution, requiring direct election of senators, is ratified by the required 3/4 of states.
- 1913 - Birth of H Ernst; bishop (Breda, Netherlands).
- 1913 - Opening of China's first parliament takes place in Peking (now Beijing).
- 1914 - Birth of John Cameron; cricket player (brother of Jimmy, West Indies vice-captain 1939 England tour).
- 1914 - Jakub Arbes, Czechoslovakia author (Andél Miru), dies at age 73.
- 1914 - US and Colombia sign a treaty concerning the Panamá Canal Zone.
- 1916 - Norway approves active and passive female suffrage.
- 1918 - Birth of Elizabeth Ann Bloomer; first lady to US President Gerald Ford (1975-76), namesake for Betty Ford Clinic.
- 1919 - Birth of Ian Douglas Smith; premier of Rhodesia (1964-).
- 1920 - Birth of Carmen [Mercedes] McRae in New York City, New York, USA; jazz singer/pianist (Downbeat's New Star of 1954).
- 1920 - Birth of Erik Pausin in Austria; figure skating pairs (Olympics-silver-1936).
- 1920 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, US composer ("White Peacock"), dies at age 35.
- 1921 - Birth of Alfie Bass in London, England; actor (Moonraker, Are You Being Served).
- 1923 - Birth of Edward Mulhare in Cork, Ireland; actor (Daniel Gregg - Ghost and Mrs Muir).
- 1923 - Birth of Franco Corelli in Ancona, Italy; tenor (Don José - Carmen).
- 1925 - Birth of Shecky Greene in Chicago, Illinois; comedian/actor (Love Machine, Combat).
- 1928 - Birth of Eric Porter in London, England; actor (Antony and Cleopatra, 39 Steps).
- 1928 - Birth of John Gavin in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Back Street, Psycho, Murder for Sale).
- 1928 - Birth of Mary Zeldenrust-Noordanus; CEO (NVSH).
- 1928 - Birth of Monty Sunshine; jazz bandleader ("Gotta Travel On").
- 1929 - Birth of Jacques Brel in Brussels, Belgium; songwriter/singer/actor (Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Pain in the Ass).
- 1930 - Birth of Dorothy Tutin in London, England; actress (Importance of Being Earnest, Cromwell).
- 1930 - Birth of John Bartholomew Tucker in Pennsylvania, USA; TV host (Candid Camera, Treasure Island).
- 1930 - Birth of John Reardon in New York City, New York, USA; baritone (Falke-Die Fledermaus).
- 1930 - Birth of Julien Van Remoortere [Piet Mortelman]; Flemish writer (Fist).
- 1930 - Birth of Mary Moore; principal (Saint Hilda's College, Oxford, England).
- 1931 - Death of Erik Axel Karlfeldt; Swedish writer, poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1864).
- 1932 - Birth of John Gavin in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Felony, Jennifer, House of Shadows).
- 1933 - Birth of Fred Ebb; lyricist (Cabaret).
- 1933 - Manchester Guardian warns of unknown Nazi terror.
- 1935 - Second Golf Masters Championship: Gene Sarazen wins, shooting a 282.
- 1935 - Birth of Albert G Bustamante; American politician (Representative-Democrat-Texas, 1985-).
- 1935 - Birth of Elizabeth Barrett-Connor; epidemiologist (Living legacy award-1984).
- 1935 - Works Progress Administration approved by US Congress.
- 1936 - Birth of Klaus Lowitsch in Berlin, Germany; actor (Despair, Marriage of Marla Braun).
- 1937 - Birth of Seymour Hersh; award winning investigative reporter (New York Times).
- 1937 - William Henry Hadow, composer (Studies in Modern Music), dies at age 77.
- 1938 - Birth of Lory Patrick in Beckley, West Virginia, USA; actress (Trina - Tales of Wells Fargo).
- 1938 - Birth of Mohammad Farooq; cricket player (Pakistani pace bowler in 7 Tests 1960-65).
- 1938 - Harold Baumgartner, cricket player (took 2-99 lefty in test for South Africa), dies.
- 1938 - Chinese victory at Taierhchwang in Shantung, trapping thousands of Japanese troops.
- 1938 - Second French government of Léon Blum replaced by War Minister Edouard Daladier.
- 1940 - Birth of John Havlicek in Martin's Ferry, Ohio, USA; NBA hall-of-famer (Boston Celtics).
- 1940 - Germany battle cruisers sink British aircraft carrier Glorious.
- 1941 - Birth of Peggy Lennon in Los Angeles, California, USA; singer (Lennon Sisters).
- 1941 - Joe Louis TKOs Tony Musto in 9 rounds for heavyweight boxing title.
- 1941 - Birth of Darlene Gillespie; actress (The Mickey Mouse Club).
- 1942 - Birth of Douglas Trumbull; director (Silent Running, Brainstorm).
- 1942 - Birth of Eduard Visser; Dutch writer (Fyffes are now called Chiquita).
- 1943 - Birth of Carol Lavell in Fairfax, Vermont, USA; equestrian dressage (Olympics-bronze-1992, 1996).
- 1943 - Birth of Michael Bennett; AIDS victim/choreographer (A Chorus Line).
- 1943 - Birth of Robby Weaver; actor (Stone).
- 1943 - Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya convicted of involvement with Mau Mau.
- 1943 - Paul Colin, Belgian journalist/collaborator, executed.
- 1943 - Richard Sears, first to win US amateur national tennis match, dies at age 81.
- 1943 - Stanley Cup: Detroit Red Wings sweep Boston Bruins in four games.
- 1944 - Birth of Hywel Bennett in South Wales; actor (Family Way, Shelley).
- 1944 - Birth of Roger Chapman in Leicester, Leicestershire, England; rock vocalist (Family - "Family Entertainment").
- 1944 - Birth of Santiago Jimenez Junior; American accordionist ("El Mero Mero", "Viva Seguin").
- 1945 - Birth of Ian White; Member of European Parliament for Bristol.
- 1945 - German occupiers executed, German General Christiansen flees Netherlands.
- 1946 - Birth of Jim "Catfish" Hunter; major-league pitcher (Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees).
- 1946 - Birth of Stuart Pankin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; comedian (Striptease, Congo, Earl - Dinosaurs).
- 1946 - The assembly of the League of Nations meets for last time, voting that "from this day the League of Nations shall cease to exist".
- 1947 - Birth of Cindy Pickett in Norman, Oklahoma, USA; actress (Guiding Light, St. Elsewhere).
- 1947 - Birth of Gerald McRaney in Collins, Mississippi, USA; actor (Rick - Simon and Simon, Major Dad).
- 1947 - Birth of Hsiao-hsien Hou; director (Cheerful Wind, City of Sadness, Puppetmaster).
- 1947 - Birth of Peter Banks in England; guitarist (Yes - "Owner of a Lonely Heart").
- 1947 - Birth of Steve Howe in London, England; rock guitarist (Asia - "Wildest Dream", Yes - "Roundabout").
- 1947 - Birth of Thomas D Delay; American politician (Representative-Republican-Texas, 1985-).
- 1947 - Henry Ford, American industrialist (Ford cars), dies.
- 1947 - Largest recorded sunspots (7,000) observed.
- 1948 - Birth of Richard Alan in Litchfield, Massachusetts, USA; bank robber (FBI most wanted).
- 1948 - Josef B Kjellgren, Swedish writer (Guldkedjan), dies at age 40.
- 1949 - Birth of Jim Lampley in Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA; newscaster (Monday Night Baseball).
- 1950 - Albert Ehrenstein, Austria writer (Strum), dies at age 63.
- 1950 - Vaslav Fromich Nijinsky, Ukrainian ballet dancer, dies in London, England.
- 1951 - Birth of Mel Schachter; rocker (Grand Funk Railroad - "We're An American Band").
- 1952 - Birth of Adam Woods; rock drummer/pianist (Fixx).
- 1952 - US President Harry Truman seizes the steel mills to prevent a strike.
- 1954 - A Comet plane disintegrates in mid-air 30 minutes after leaving Rome, Italy, airport, killing all on board.
- 1954 - Birth of Gary Carter; catcher (Montreal Expos, New York Mets).
- 1954 - Birth of John Schneider in Mount Kisco, New York, USA; actor (Bo - The Dukes of Hazzard).
- 1955 - Birth of John Campbell; harness racer (three-time winner of Hambletonian).
- 1956 - 20th Golf Masters Championship: Jack Burke Junior wins, shooting a 289.
- 1956 - Six marine recruits drown during exercise at Paradise Island, South Carolina, USA.
- 1956 - M Bandaranaike's People's Front wins election in Ceylon.
- 1957 - Birth of Michael Spound in Santa Monica, California, USA; actor (Dave - Hotel).
- 1957 - Frank Chester; cricket player (distinguished one-armed England Test ump), dies.
- 1958 - ABC resumes airing the Pantomime Quiz 30-minute TV game show.
- 1959 - Birth of Franklyn Stephenson; cricket player (great all-rounder).
- 1959 - Birth of Martin John Weston in Worcester, England; cricket player.
- 1959 - Gustave Charlier, Belgian literature historian, dies.
- 1960 - Netherlands and Germany sign accord concerning war casualties.
- 1961 - British liner Dara explodes in Persian Gulf, kills 236.
- 1962 - Accords of Evian (Algeria) accepted by referendum in France.
- 1962 - Birth of Izzy Stradlin [Jeff Isabelle] in Lafayette, Indiana, USA; guitarist (Guns N' Roses - "Welcome to the Jungle").
- 1963 - Birth of Alec James Stewart in Merton, England; cricketer (son of Mickey/opening bat/occasional wicket keeper).
- 1963 - Birth of Erica Terwillegar in Nelsonville, New Jersey, USA; lugist.
- 1963 - Birth of Julian Lennon in Liverpool, England, son of John Lennon; singer ("Too Late for Goodbyes"), subject of Beatles' "Hey Jude".
- 1963 - Birth of Terry Porter; NBA guard (Minnesota Timberwolves).
- 1963 - Len Tuckett, cricket player (no runs no wickets in 1 Test for South Africa), dies.
- 1963 - Detroit Tigers claim young pitcher Denny McLain from the Chicago White Sox for US$25,000.
- 1963 - ABC airs the final episode of The Rifleman.
- 1964 - Birth of Biz Markie; rocker (Meteor Man, Townsend Television).
- 1964 - Birth of Valinda Hilleary in Littleton, Colorado, USA; WPVA volleyball player (US Open-9th-1993).
- 1964 - Unmanned Gemini 1 launched.
- 1965 - Erik A Blomberg, Swedish art historian/poet/author, dies at age 70.
- 1965 - Jack Durston, cricket player (one Test for England, 4-102 and 1-34), dies.
- 1965 - Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (Flesh and Devil), dies after illness at age 78.
- 1966 - AFL chooses 36-year-old Al Davis as commissioner.
- 1966 - Birth of Robin [Virginia] Wright Penn in Dallas, Texas, USA; actress (Jenny - Forrest Gump, Kelly - Santa Barbara, Princess Bride).
- 1966 - Leonid Brezhnev elected Secretary-General of Soviet communist party.
- 1966 - At the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, USA, the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers play baseball's first game on synthetic grass. The Monsanto chemical company provided the experimental playing surface of nylon grass, dubbed Astro Turf.
- 1966 - OAO 1, the first orbiting astronomical observatory, is launched.
- 1967 - Birth of Kenneth [Kenny] Charlie Griffith Benjamin in Saint John's, Antigua; cricket player (West Indies like his namesake).
- 1968 - Birth of Don Davey; NFL defensive tackle (Jacksonville Jaguars).
- 1968 - Birth of Patricia Arquette in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Ed Wood, Nightmare on Elm Street 3).
- 1968 - Czechoslovakia Cernik government forms.
- 1969 - First Major League Baseball game in Canada - Montreal Expos beats New York Mets 10-9.
- 1969 - Birth of Steve Jackson; NFL cornerback (Houston/Tennessee Oilers).
- 1969 - Denton Cooley, received first fully-artificial heart, dies at age 48.
- 1969 - In their first game in Major League Baseball franchise history, the Montreal Expos defeat the New York Mets, 11-10 at Shea Stadium in New York.
- 1969 - National League baseball debut of San Diego padres, winning against Houston Astros 2-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium.
- 1969 - The Kansas City Royals play their first Major League Baseball game in the history of the franchise, beating the Minnesota Twins in 12 innings, 4-3.
- 1969 - The Seattle Pilots make their Major League Baseball debut defeating the California Angels, 4-3.
- 1970 - Birth of Derek D Brown in Washington DC; team handball right wing (Olympics-1996).
- 1970 - Birth of Gerald Vaughn; Canadian Football League defensive back (Hamilton Tiger Cats).
- 1970 - Birth of Harold Bishop; NFL tight end (Cleveland Browns).
- 1970 - Marie V Felix, Prince of Luxemburg, dies.
- 1970 - US Senate rejects President Richard Nixon's nomination of Carswell to Supreme Court.
- 1971 - First legal off-track betting system begins (OTB-New York).
- 1971 - Birth of Edward Fryatt in Rochdale, England; Nike golfer (1994 NCAA West Regional).
- 1971 - Birth of Marc Peers in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; tornado yachter (Olympics-1996).
- 1971 - In Wethersfield, Connecticut, USA a house is struck by a falling meteorite.
- 1971 - Death of Fritz von Opel in Saint Moritz, Switzerland; automotive engineer, performed early experiments with rocket propulsion for automobiles and aircraft.
- 1972 - Alvin Kallicharran scores 100 in his first Test Cricket innings versus New Zealand.
- 1972 - Birth of Damon Watts; NFL center (Indianapolis Colts).
- 1972 - Birth of Isaac Davis; NFL guard (San Diego Chargers).
- 1972 - Birth of Katrina Powell in Canberra, Australia; field hockey striker (Olympics-1996).
- 1973 - Birth of Alex Gonzalez in Miami, Florida; infielder (Toronto Blue Jays).
- 1973 - Birth of Joel Davis; guard (Cincinnati Bengals).
- 1973 - Birth of Walter Nicholas Henry Tongue in Auckland, New Zealand; 50 metre/100 metre swimmer (Olympics-1996).
- 1973 - Death of Pablo Ruiz y Picasso at age 91 near Mougins, France; Spanish/French painter (Guernica, created 25,000 works).
- 1974 - Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record of 714 homers.
- 1975 - 47th Academy Awards - Godfather II, Ellen Burstyn and Art Carney win.
- 1976 - Birth of Jim Farnum in Honolulu, Hawaii; kayak (alternate-Olympics-1996).
- 1977 - Frank Milan, actor (The Witness), dies at age 71.
- 1977 - Israel premier Yitzhak Rabin resigns.
- 1978 - Ford C Frick, baseball commissioner, dies at age 83.
- 1978 - Regular radio broadcasts of British Parliament proceedings start.
- 1979 - CBS airs the 204th and last episode of All In The Family.
- 1979 - 8th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Sandra Post.
- 1979 - People's Republic of China joins International Olympic Committee.
- 1979 - Birth of Alexi Laiho; Finnish rock guitarist (Children of Bodom).
- 1980 - New York Islanders' Potvin's two shorthanded goals tie NHL record vs Los Angeles Kings and set NHL record of two shorthanded playoff goals in one period.
- 1981 - New York Islanders score nine goals against Toronto Maple Leafs in playoffs.
- 1981 - Omar Bradley, last American five-star General, dies in New York at age 88.
- 1981 - Birth of Rebecca Wilson in Queensland, Australia; gymnast (Olympics-1996).
- 1982 - Tracy Caulkins (19) wins her 36th US swimming title.
- 1984 - 13th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Juli Inkster.
- 1984 - 4th Golden Raspberry Awards: Lonely Lady wins.
- 1984 - Birth of Taran Noah Smith in San Francisco, California; actor (Mark Taylor - Home Improvement).
- 1984 - Death of Pyotr Leonidovich Kapitsa, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1894).
- 1985 - Amdahl releases UTS/V, first mainframe Unix operating system.
- 1985 - India files suit against Union Carbide over Bhopal disaster.
- 1986 - American actor Clint Eastwood elected mayor of Carmel, California.
- 1986 - Facing Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants' rookie Will Clark homers in his first major league at-bat.
- 1986 - The Seattle Mariners' Jim Presley hits two home runs in the ninth and tenth innings helping Seattle to beat the California Angels, 8-4 in a dramatic comeback victory on Opening Day.
- 1987 - Francis C Denebrink, US Naval officer (WWI, WWII, Korea) dies at age 90.
- 1989 - One-handed pitcher Jim Abbott's debut, but lasts only 4 2/3 innings.
- 1990 - ABC-TV debuts the primetime serial Twin Peaks.
- 1990 - 54th Golf Masters Championship: Nick Faldo wins, shooting a 278.
- 1990 - King Birendra of Nepal lifts 30-year ban on political parties.
- 1990 - Kris Monaghan wins LPGA Red Robin Kyocera Inamori Golf Classic.
- 1990 - Scandinavian Star, a Bahamas-registered ferry, catches fire en route from Norway to Denmark, leaving 158 dead.
- 1991 - Jockey Bill Shoemaker paralyzed in a car accident.
- 1991 - Major League Baseball umpires and baseball reach a 4-year agreement.
- 1991 - Death of Per "Dead" Yngve Ohlin, vocalist for Mayhem/Morbid (suicide) (born 1969).
- 1991 - Oakland Athletics Stadium becomes first outdoor arena to ban smoking.
- 1992 - After 151 years, Britain's Punch Magazine publishes its final issue.
- 1992 - Death of Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1907).
- 1993 - H Earnest, bishop of Breda, dies.
- 1993 - Cleveland Indians' Carlos Baerga is first to switch hit homeruns in same inning (vs New York Yankees).
- 1993 - Marian Anderson, American contralto (My Lord, What a Morning), dies at age 96 (born 1897).
- 1993 - STS-56 (Discovery) launches into orbit.
- 1994 - Atlanta Braves' pitcher Kent Mercker no-hits Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-0.
- 1994 - Japan's premier Morihiro Hosokawa resigns.
- 1994 - Smoking is banned in Pentagon and all US military bases.
- 1994 - Walter Arnold, German theologist (World council of Churches), dies at age 64.
- 1994 - Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, is found dead in Seattle, Washington. His death is believed to have been a suicide.
- 1995 - BPAA US Open won by Dave Husted.
- 1995 - Maurice Allom, cricket player (14 Test wickets-New Zealand debut hat-trick), dies.
- 1995 - Oliver McCall beats Larry Holmes in 12 for heavyweight boxing title.
- 1996 - Ben Johnson, cowboy actor (Tex, Dillinger), dies of heart attack at age 77.
- 1996 - Bruce Seldon TKOs Tony Tucker in 7 to win vacated WBA boxing title.
- 1997 - Microsoft Corp releases Internet Explorer 4.0.
- 1997 - The Stickney-Eliasberg pedigree US 1804 Draped Bust silver dollar sells for US$1.815 million, a record for a single coin at auction. A US 1885 Trade dollar, Proof, finest of 5 known, sells for $907,500 to Jay Parrino.
- 1998 - UNSCOM reports to the United Nations Security Council that Iraq's declaration on its biological weapons program is incomplete and inadequate.
- 1998 - A Force 5 tornado strikes the western portion of the Birmingham, Alabama area, killing 32.
- 1999 - In China, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurs. Also felt in southern Hokkaido, northern Honshu and at Tokyo, Japan.
- 2000 - Death of Claire Trevor AKA Claire Wemlinger at age 91 of respiratory ailments; actress (Big Town radio show, Producer's Showcase - Dodsworth (Emmy award)).
- 2002 - Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing changes its company name to 3M Company.
- 2004 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average removes AT&T Corporation, Eastman Kodak Company and International Paper Company from its index, replacing them with American International Group Incorporated, Pfizer Incorporated, and Verizon Communications Incorporated.
- 2004 - The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- 2005 - A referendum is held in Curaçao on independence versus integration with the Netherlands.
- 2005 - Two million people pack Vatican City for the funeral of Pope John Paul II, possibly the biggest funeral in history.
- 2005 - Birth of Leah Isadora Behn, granddaughter of King Harald V of Norway.
- 2006 - The bodies of eight murdered men are found in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario, Canada.
- 2006 - Bristol, United Kingdom celebrates the 200th birthday of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (actually April 9) by relighting the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
- 2006 - Numbersixvalverde, ridden by Niall Madden, wins the Grand National at Aintree.
- 2006 - Bloc 8406 publishes their Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Viet Nam in Viet Nam; their name comes from this date.
- 2007 - Zach Johnson wins the 2007 Masters Tournament.
- 2008 - Privy Council of Sark dismantles its feudal system to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights. The first elections under the new law will be held in December 2008.
- 2009 - Pulte Homes in the USA announces it will buy rival Centex Corp in a US$1.3 billion all-stock deal to create the largest U.S. homebuilder.
- 2009 - The NASA Kepler satellite begins its 3.5-year mission of taking pictures in the Cygnus-Lyra region of space, comprising about 4.5 million stars. Scientists will look for dips in starlight indicating passing planets in front of parent stars.
- 2010 - US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign a landmark nuclear arms treaty in the Czech capital, Prague. The treaty commits the countries to each reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550, 30 percent lower than the previous ceiling.
- 2010 - British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia sign a deal to merge and create one of the world's biggest airline groups, to be called International Airlines Group.
- 2010 - Europe's Cryosat-2 spacecraft is launched aboard a Dnepr rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on a mission to map the Earth's ice cover, and successfully deployed into Earth's orbit.
- 2010 - The governing coalition in Sri Lanka, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's United People's Freedom Alliance, wins a majority in parliamentary elections.
- 2011 - Price of an ounce of silver crosses US$40 for the first time in 31 years.
- 2013 - Death of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1925).
- 2018 - At least 70 people are reported killed and hundreds suffering injuries after a sarin chemical attack in Douma, the last rebel-held town in Syria's Eastern Ghouta.
- 2020 - The Saudi-led coalition declares a unilateral ceasefire in its operations against Houthi forces in Yemen.
- 2020 - Death of Valeriu Muravschi, 1st Prime Minister of Moldova (born 1949).
- 2022 - SpaceX flight to the International Space Station carries three paying passengers who paid US$55 million each for a stay of more than a week.
- 2022 - Death of Mimi Reinhardt at age 107; Austrian secretary to Oskar Schindler.
- 2023 - Death of Elizabeth Hubbard at age 89 of cancer at home in Roxbury, Connecticut, USA; actor (The Doctors TV show, As the World Turns TV show, Emmy award winner).
- 2023 - Death of Michael Lerner at age 81 due to complications from brain seizures, in a hospital in Burbank, California, USA; actor (Barton Fink movie, Elf movie).
|
|
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history.
Bookmark this URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/ and revisit each day.
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events)
Or, visit my Timelines of History page.
|