|
What happened in history on this day: April 26?
On April 26 in ...
- 121 - Birth of Antonius Marcus Aurelius [Marcus A Verus], Emperor of Rome (161-180).
- 757 - Paolo Orsini replaces his brother Pope Stephen II, as Paul I.
- 757 - Stephen II Pope (752-57), dies.
- 1196 - Alfonso II King of Aragon (1162-96), dies.
- 1220 - German king Frederick II grants bishops sovereign rights.
- 1319 - Birth of Jean II the Good, king of France (1350-64).
- 1444 - Robert Campin South Netherlands painter/porter of Doornik, dies at about age 65.
- 1478 - Easter is celebrated for the first time.
- 1478 - Giuliano de' Medici Medeheerser of Florence, murdered at about age 24.
- 1478 - Pazzi conspirators attack Lorenzo and kill Giuliano de'Medici.
- 1514 - Copernicus makes his first observations of Saturn.
- 1532 - Sultan Suleiman through Hungary on away to Vienna.
- 1538 - Birth of Giovanni P Lomazzo Italian writer/poet (Trattato).
- 1558 - Jean François Fernel French physician, dies.
- 1573 - Birth of Marie de'Medici Queen of France.
- 1603 - Birth of Francesco Nigetti composer.
- 1637 - Birth of Philip J van Lichtenbergh Governor of Suriname, baptized.
- 1648 - Birth of Pedro II King of Portugal (1683-1706).
- 1648 - Christoph Thomas Walliser composer, dies at age 79.
- 1654 - Jews are expelled from Brazil.
- 1655 - Dutch West Indies Company denies Peter Stuyvesant's desire to exclude Jews from New Amsterdam.
- 1677 - Emperor Leopold I forms University of Innsbruck.
- 1709 - Frisian viceroy Johan Willem Friso marries countess Maria Louisa.
- 1711 - Birth of David Hume England, empiricist/philosopher (Treatise of Human Nature).
- 1718 - Birth of Esek Hopkins US, first commander-in-chief (US Navy).
- 1721 - Smallpox vaccination first administrated.
- 1726 - Birth of Pasquale Paoli Corsican freedom fighter.
- 1726 - Jeremy Collier English bishop/historian/opponent to theater, dies at age 75.
- 1731 - Daniel Defoe English author (Robinson Crusoe), dies at about age 70.
- 1755 - First Russian university opens (Moscow).
- 1776 - Birth of Joan M Kemper; Dutch lawyer (designed civil code law book).
- 1777 - Sybil Ludington, age 16, rides from New York to Connecticut rallying her father's militia.
- 1785 - Birth of John James Audubon in Haiti; bird watcher, artist.
- 1789 - Death of Peter I Panin at about age 67; Russian General (Pugatshov-uprising).
- 1795 - The French Convention annuls a decree forbidding trading in gold and silver.
- 1798 - Birth of Ferdinand Eugène Delacroix; French painter/lithograph/etcher (Journal).
- 1803 - A large shower of several thousand stony meteorites occurs near town of L'Aigle in Northern France. Physicist Jean-Baptiste Biot writes official report for French Ministry of Interior, that establishes acceptance that stones sometimes do fall to Earth.
- 1814 - King Louis XVIII lands on Calais, from England.
- 1820 - Birth of Alice Cary in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; American poet (Cincinnati Sentinel).
- 1822 - Birth of Frederick Law Olmsted; architect/writer (designed Central Park).
- 1827 - Birth of Charles Edward Hovey; US Brevet Major General (US volunteers).
- 1828 - Russia declares war on Turkey to support Greece's independence.
- 1836 - Birth of Erminnie Adelle Platt; US ethnologist (Iriquois-English Dictionary).
- 1839 - Birth of Cyrus Hamblin; US Brevet Major General (Union volunteers) (dies 1867).
- 1853 - Dutch King William III disbands second Chamber.
- 1862 - US Congress approves purchase of Clark, Gruber and Company in Denver, Colorado.
- 1865 - John Wilkes Booth, alleged assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, is shot dead near Bowling Green, Virginia at age 27.
- 1865 - Confederate General J E Johnston surrenders Army of Tennessee, at Durham, North Carolina.
- 1868 - Birth of Harold Sidney Harmsworth; first Viscount Rothermere/Newspaper publisher.
- 1868 - Birth of Robert Herrick; US writer (Common lot).
- 1873 - Birth of Otto zur Linde; German author (Charon).
- 1874 - Birth of J H "Biddy" Anderson; cricket player (one Test South Africa versus Australia 1902).
- 1878 - Birth of Ethel Griffies; actress (Billy Liar, Birds, We Live Again).
- 1879 - Birth of Owen Williams Richardson in England; physicist (Nobel Prize 1928).
- 1880 - Birth of Mikhail Fokine in Russia; choreographer/founder of modern dance.
- 1884 - Birth of Harry Sothern; actor (Dr Huer - Buck Rogers).
- 1886 - Birth of Ma Rainey AKA Gertrude Pridgett; "Mother of the Blues", US blues singer.
- 1889 - Birth of Ludwig Wittgenstein in Austria; philosopher (Tractatus).
- 1890 - Birth of Edgar "E Livingstone" Kennedy; US actor/director (My Old Dutch).
- 1893 - Birth of Anita Loos; author (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes).
- 1895 - Birth of Rudolf Hess; Hitler's Deputy Führer, only prisoner at Spandau.
- 1897 - Birth of Olga Chekova in Russia; actress (Italian Strawhat, Cry of the Children).
- 1898 - Birth of Edward PF Eagan in Denver, Colorado, USA; boxer (Olympics-gold-1920), bobsledder (Olympics-gold-1932).
- 1898 - Birth of Vicente Aleixandre in Spain; poet (Ambito, Bird of Paper, Nobel Prize 1977).
- 1899 - Birth of Guinn "Big Boy" Williams in Decatur, Texas, USA; actor (Circus Boy, Hoedown, Country Fair, Blackmail).
- 1900 - American League baseball opener in Cleveland, Ohio draws 6,500.
- 1900 - Birth of Charles Richter in Ohio, USA; earthquake seismologist (Richter scale).
- 1900 - Birth of Douglas Sirk; director (Zu Neuen Ufern, Boefje).
- 1900 - Birth of James Sutherland; English literature scholar/actor (Rob Roy 1953).
- 1903 - Birth of Geoffrey Worthington; Air vice-marshall.
- 1903 - Birth of Niven Busch; US screenwriter (Postman Always Rings Twice).
- 1904 - Birth of Paul E "Cardinal" Leger; archbishop (Montréal, Québec, Canada).
- 1905 - Birth of Charles K Feldman [Gould] in New York City, New York, USA; producer (Casino Royale).
- 1905 - Birth of Denis O'Dea in Dublin, Ireland; actor (Esther and the King, Treasure Island).
- 1905 - Birth of Jean Vigo in France; actor/director (Zero For Conduct, L'Atlante).
- 1907 - Birth of Theun de Vries; writer (February, PC Hooft prize 1981).
- 1909 - Birth of Richard Howorth; cricket player (English all-rounder, three county doubles).
- 1910 - Birth of Johan Doorn; Dutch journalist/resistance fighter (Orange Newspaper).
- 1910 - Birth of Tomoyuki Tanaka; director (Godzilla).
- 1910 - Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian writer (Mary, Nobel Prize 1903), dies at age 77.
- 1911 - Birth of Marianne Hoppe in Rostock, Germany; actor (Bei Thea, Liebrauen).
- 1912 - Birth of A[lfred] E[lton] Van Vogt in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; science fiction writer (Cosmic Encounter).
- 1913 - Sun Yat Sen calls for revolt against President Yuan Shikai in China.
- 1914 - Birth of Bernard Malamud in Brooklyn, New York, USA; novelist (The Fixer, The Natural Pulitizer 1967).
- 1914 - Birth of Charlie Chester; British comedian (Never Say Die).
- 1914 - Birth of James William Rouse; US builder (shopping malls/Columbia Maryland).
- 1915 - Italy secretly signes Pact of London with Britain, France and Russia.
- 1916 - Birth of Morris L West in Australia; novelist (Shoes of the Fisherman).
- 1917 - Birth of Ieoh Ming Pei in Canton, China; architect (1961 Brunner Prize).
- 1917 - Birth of Sal Maglie AKA "The Barber"; pitcher (New York Giants, 8th best won-lost percentage).
- 1918 - Birth of Fanny Blankers-Koen in Holland; 100 metre/200 metre dash, Hurdler (Olympics-gold-1948).
- 1918 - Birth of Jack Morpurgo; American Literature scholar (Leeds University).
- 1918 - Birth of Stafford Repp in California, USA; actor (Chief O'Hara - Batman, Plunder Road).
- 1919 - Württemberg joins the German Republic.
- 1920 - Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian math genius ('pi', Notebooks), dies at age 32.
- 1921 - Birth of Harry Knutton; Major-General/Director-General (London City and Guilds Institute).
- 1922 - Birth of Jeanne Sauvé; Governor-General of Canada (1984-90).
- 1922 - Birth of Margaret Scott; founder (Australian Ballet School).
- 1922 - Birth of Mike Kellin in Hartford, Connecticut, USA; actor (Honestly Celeste, Fitz and Bones).
- 1923 - Birth of Oliver Millar; surveyor (Queen's Pictures).
- 1923 - English prince Albert (George VI) marries lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.
- 1924 - Birth of Russell Nype in Zion, Illinois, USA; singer/actor (Burton Farley - Dorothy).
- 1925 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Edna Ferber for So big.
- 1926 - Birth of Anton PO Ekström; Swedish writer (Summer Dances).
- 1926 - Birth of Michael Joughin; CEO (Scottish Hydro-Electric).
- 1926 - Birth of Preston "Bob" Tisch; NFL co-owner (New York Giants).
- 1926 - Karachai Autonomous Region is established in RSFSR (until 1943).
- 1927 - Birth of Anne McLaren; biologist/zoologist/actress (Things to Come).
- 1927 - Birth of Jack Douglas; comedian (My Brother Was an Only Child, Jack Paar Show).
- 1928 - Birth of Gordon Downey; British Comptroller General/Reader Representative (Independent).
- 1928 - Madame Tussaud's waxworks exhibition opens in London.
- 1929 - First non-stop England to India flight lands.
- 1930 - Birth of Derek Waring; actor (Barnacle Bill, Arthur - Heart of the Country).
- 1930 - Birth of Justin Gosling; principal (Saint Edmund Hall, Oxford, England).
- 1930 - Birth of Roger Moens in Belgium; 800 metre runner (Olympics-silver-1960).
- 1931 - Lou Gehrig hits a homerun but is called out for passing a runner, the mistake costs him American League home run crown; he and Babe Ruth tie for season.
- 1931 - Death of George Herbert Mead, American philosopher (born 1863).
- 1932 - Bill Lockwood, cricket player (43 wickets in 12 Tests for England), dies.
- 1933 - Birth of Carol Burnett in San Antonio, Texas, USA; comedian/actress (Annie, Four Seasons).
- 1933 - Jewish students are barred from school in Germany.
- 1934 - Birth of J Micheal McCloskey; environmentalist, Sierra Club chairman.
- 1935 - Frank Boucher is given the NHL's Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship permanently for winning it 7 of 11 years.
- 1936 - Birth of Edward Cazalet; British High Court Judge.
- 1937 - Birth of Robert Boozer in Omaha, Nebraska, USA; basketball player (Olympics-gold-1960).
- 1937 - German Luftwaffe destroys Basque town of Guernica in Spain.
- 1938 - Austrian Jews required to register property above 5,000 Reichsmarks.
- 1938 - Birth of Duane Eddy in Phoenix, Arizona, USA; guitarist ("Peter Gunn", "Cannonball").
- 1938 - Edmund Husserl, German philosopher (study of phenomenon), dies at age 79.
- 1939 - Birth of Roger Buckley; British High Court Judge.
- 1940 - Birth of Giorgio Moroder in Ortisei, Italy; composer/producer/singer (Top Gun, Metropolis, Electric Dreams, Cat People, Let it Ride).
- 1940 - Carl Bosch, German chemist (BASF, IG Farben, Nobel Prize 1931), dies at age 65.
- 1941 - A tradition begins, first organ at a baseball stadium (Chicago Cubs).
- 1941 - Birth of John Battle; British Member of Parliament.
- 1941 - Jean Demoor, Belgian physician/physiologist/educationalist, dies at age 74.
- 1941 - Potatoes rationed in Holland.
- 1942 - Birth of Bobby Rydell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; rock singer ("Wild One", "Bye Bye Birdie").
- 1942 - Birth of Claudine Auger in Paris, France; Miss France-Universe (1958)/actress (Thunderball).
- 1942 - Colliery explosion kills 1,549 at Honkeiko Manchuria.
- 1942 - (evening) British Bomber Command launches a fourth and final attack on Rostock, Germany. Over the past four nights of attacks, 70% of the city is destroyed. Of 521 sorties in total, only 11 planes are shot down. The Heinkel aircraft factory is hit, but is back in production in a few weeks. Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Hitler agree to retaliatory attacks on British cultural, resort, and civilization centers, to "bring the English to their senses". Goebbels writes in his diary: "They belong to a class of being to whom you can talk only after you have first knocked out their teeth."
- 1943 - Birth of Gary Wright in Creskill, New Jersey, USA; singer/keyboardist ("Dream Weaver", Spooky Tooth - "Love Is Alive").
- 1944 - First B-29 attacked by Japanese fighters, one fighter shot down.
- 1944 - Birth of David O'B Martin; American politician (Representative-Republican-New York, 1981-).
- 1944 - Birth of Martha Rockwell in Providence, Rhode Island, USA; skier (Mount Washington).
- 1944 - Papandreou government in Greece forms.
- 1945 - Birth of V K Ramaswamy; cricket player (Indian Test umpire stood in 1996 World Cup).
- 1945 - Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, leader of France's Vichy collaborationist regime during WWII, is arrested for treason.
- 1946 - Hermann Keyserling, count/philosopher (Unsterblichkeit), dies at age 65.
- 1947 - Birth of Donna Elizabeth De Varona in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA; swimmer (Olympics-2 gold-1964).
- 1947 - Birth of Gervase Frank Ashworth Jackson-Stops; architectural adviser.
- 1948 - Birth of Boyd Matson; TV host/correspondent (National Geographic Explorer).
- 1948 - Birth of Gerry Sikorski; American politician (Representative-Democrat-Minnesota, 1983-).
- 1948 - The XP-86 prototype for the US Sabre Jet first "officially" breaks the sound barrier.
- 1949 - Birth of Jimmy Hall; rocker (Wet Willie).
- 1950 - Birth of Howard "Leon" Reeder; rock guitarist (Champaign).
- 1950 - Birth of Peter Schaufuss; director of ballet (Deutsche Opera Berlin).
- 1950 - Last horse race at Havre de Grace Track in Maryland is run.
- 1950 - University of Miami ends William and Mary straight tennis match victories at 82.
- 1951 - Birth of Lynne Jones; British Member of Parliament.
- 1951 - John Alden Carpenter, American composer (Sea Drift), dies at age 75.
- 1952 - Birth of Popo Simon Molefe; Secretary-General (South Africa UDF).
- 1952 - Charles L Baars, Dutch actor (Women Tamers), dies at age 59.
- 1952 - US minesweeper Hobson rams aircraft carrier Wasp, killing 176.
- 1954 - Far Eastern Affairs conference opens in Geneva, Switzerland.
- 1954 - Polio vaccine trials begin at the Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Virginia.
- 1956 - Birth of Koo Stark [Kathleen Dee-Anne]; photographer/actress (Emily).
- 1956 - Edward Arnold, actor (Mr Smith Goes to Washington), dies at age 66.
- 1958 - Birth of Giancarlo Esposito; actor (Bob Roberts, School Daze, King of New York).
- 1958 - Joe Small, cricket player (West Indies all-rounder in 1928 series), dies.
- 1959 - Birth of Ann O'Neill in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia; golfer (1989 Downs District Champion).
- 1959 - Cuba invades Panamá.
- 1959 - Wiffi Smith wins LPGA Betsy Rawls Golf Open.
- 1960 - Birth of Roger Taylor in England; rock drummer (Duran Duran - "Hungry Like the Wolf").
- 1960 - Wander J de Haas, Dutch physicist (Einstein-De Haas effect), dies at age 82.
- 1961 - Birth of Albert Lawrence in Jamaica; 4X100 metre relayer (Olympics-silver-1984).
- 1961 - Birth of Joan Chen [Chen Chong] in Shanghai, China; actress (Heaven and Earth).
- 1961 - Birth of Nancy Scranton in Centralia, Illinois, USA; golfer (1991 du Maurier Ltd Classic).
- 1961 - French paratroopers' revolt suppressed in Algeria.
- 1961 - Gail Russell, actress (Calcutta, Moonrise, El Paso), dies at age 36.
- 1962 - First Lockheed A-12 flies.
- 1962 - Birth of Graham "Skin" Skinner; rocker (Hipsway).
- 1962 - Birth of Michael Damian in San Diego, California, USA; actor/singer (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Young and the Restless).
- 1962 - Boston Red Sox Bill Monbouquette no-hits Chicago White Sox 1-0.
- 1962 - In Kiel, Federal Republic of Germany, a building is hit by a falling meteorite.
- 1962 - US/United Kingdom launch Ariel; first international payload, first United Kingdom satellite.
- 1963 - Birth of Bill Wennington; NBA center (Chicago Bulls).
- 1963 - Birth of Thomas Searle; hockey defenseman (Team Austria 1998).
- 1964 - 18th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat San Francisco Warriors, 4 games to 1.
- 1964 - Birth of Tod Bass in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In).
- 1964 - Edwin John Pratt; Canadian poet (Towards the Last Spike), dies at age 81.
- 1964 - Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship.
- 1964 - Pieter van der Lijn, Dutch geologist (Boulder Book), dies at age 93.
- 1964 - Tanganyika and Zanzibar form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
- 1966 - Arnold "Red" Auerbach retires as Boston Celtics' coach.
- 1966 - Birth of Andrea Temesvari in Budapest, Hungary; tennis star (1983, 1984, 1985 US Clay Courts).
- 1966 - Birth of Heather Rattray in Moline, Illinois, USA; actress (Lily - As the World Turns).
- 1966 - In Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a magnitude 5.0 earthquake occurs. 10 killed, 1,000 injured, 100,000 left homeless. 28,000 buildings destroyed in the Old Quarter of Tashkent.
- 1967 - Birth of Klaus Merk in Augsburg, Germany; hockey goaltender (Team Germany 1998).
- 1967 - Birth of Matt Peterson in Chicago, Illinois, USA; Nike golfer (1992 Hawkeye Open-7th).
- 1967 - San Marco 2 satellite launch (first Equatorial launch).
- 1968 - Birth of Ahmed Elmaghraby in Suez, Egypt; US field hockey forward (Olympics-1996).
- 1968 - Students seize administration building at Ohio State.
- 1968 - US performs underground nuclear test of "Boxcar", a one megaton device, at Nevada Test Site.
- 1969 - Firestone World Bowling Tournament (Mercury Open) won by Jim Godman.
- 1970 - Gypsy Rose Lee [Rose Louise Hovick], stripper/actress (Pruitts of Southampton), dies from cancer at age 56.
- 1971 - Birth of Ryan Yarborough; NFL wide receiver (Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets).
- 1971 - Heaviest rains ever in Bahia district of Brazil, 15 inches in 24 hours.
- 1971 - San Francisco lightship replaced by automatic buoy.
- 1971 - Turkey state of siege proclaimed.
- 1972 - Birth of Francisco Cordova in Veracruz, México; pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates).
- 1972 - Birth of Marco Rivera; NFL/WLAF guard (Scottish Claymores, Green Bay Packers-Superbowl 31).
- 1972 - Birth of Natrone Means; NFL running back (San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars).
- 1973 - Birth of Damien Munoz; Miss Colorado-USA (1997).
- 1973 - Birth of Mark Davis; NBA guard/forward (Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves).
- 1973 - Birth of Tracy Kathleen Hayes in Wheaton, Illinois, USA; Miss Illinois-America (5th-1996).
- 1973 - Irene Ryan, actress (Granny - The Beverly Hillbillies), dies at age 71 six weeks after suffering a stroke while performing in the Broadway musical Pippin.
- 1973 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1974 - Landslide in Huancavelica Province, Peru creates a natural dam.
- 1974 - Malta adopts constitution.
- 1974 - New York Yankees trade Peterson, Beene, Kline and Buskey to Cleveland Indians for Chambliss, Tidrow and Upshaw.
- 1975 - Birth of Jabbar Threats; defensive end (Jacksonville Jaguars).
- 1975 - Birth of Trudi Ferguson; Miss Jamaica-Universe (1996).
- 1975 - Philadelphia Phillies' Mike Schmidt's two homeruns ties National League record of 11 homeruns in April.
- 1976 - Allan Jackson, newscaster (Youth Takes a Stand), dies at age 60.
- 1976 - Birth of Sarah Tueting; ice hockey goalie (USA, Olympics-1998).
- 1976 - Neil McCallum, actor (Pete - Saber of London), dies at age 45.
- 1976 - Pan Am begins non-stop flights, New York - Tokyo.
- 1976 - Sid James, British comedy actor (Lavander Hill Mob, Carry On movies) collapses from a heart attack onstage at the Sunderland Empire during a performance of The Mating Game and dies in hospital shortly thereafter at age 65.
- 1977 - New York's famed disco Studio 54 opens.
- 1978 - France sends troops to Chad.
- 1978 - NASA launches space vehicle S-201.
- 1979 - Birth of Janne Wirman; Finnish keyboardist (Children of Bodom).
- 1979 - Birth of Sean Fox; actor (3 Ninjas Kick Back, Calendar Girl).
- 1980 - Birth of Jordana Brewster in Panamá; actress (Nikki Graves - As the World Turns).
- 1980 - Birth of Marne Patterson in Sherman Oaks, California; actress (Nicole - Something So Right).
- 1980 - Cicely Courtneidge, actress (Double Exposure), dies at age 87.
- 1980 - Gerard Nijboer runs Dutch record marathon (2:09:01).
- 1980 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1980 - Iran begins scattering US hostages from the US Embassy.
- 1980 - Longest jump by a jet boat is set at 120 feet.
- 1980 - Philadelphia Phillies' Steve Carlton pitches his sixth one-hitter (beats Saint Louis Cardinals).
- 1981 - Beth Solomon wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic.
- 1981 - Jim Davis, actor (Jack Ewing - Dallas), dies at age 65.
- 1981 - Largest US bank robbery (Tucson, Arizona), more than US$33 million stolen.
- 1981 - Madge Evans, TV panelist (Masquerade Party), dies at age 71.
- 1982 - Argentina surrenders to Britain on South Georgia near Falkland Island.
- 1982 - CBS radio begins youth-oriented broadcast Radio Radio.
- 1982 - Celia Johnson, British actress (Brief Encounter, Happy Breed, Jean Brodie), dies of stroke at age 73.
- 1982 - Ville Ritola, Finnish 5km/10km runner (Olympics-gold-1924, 1928), dies.
- 1982 - Gene Michaels becomes the New York Yankees' manager for the second time.
- 1983 - San Antonio spurs beat Denver Nuggets 152-133 in NBA playoff game.
- 1983 - Vaughn Taylor, actor (Johnny Jupiter), dies at age 72.
- 1983 - Dow Jones Industrial Average breaks 1200 for first time.
- 1984 - Henry Rowland, actor (Rogue's Regiment), dies at age 70.
- 1984 - May McAvoy, actress (Ben Hur), dies after a heart attack at age 82.
- 1984 - US President Ronald Reagan visits China.
- 1984 - Death of William Allen Basie AKA Count Basie at age 79 of pancreatic cancer; jazz pianist, bandleader (Count Basie Orchestra - "One O'Clock Jump", "Jumpin' at the Woodside").
- 1984 - Sultan Iskandar, Sultan of Johor, becomes the 8th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- 1984 - Birth of Ryan O'Donohue in Pomona, California; actress (Byrds of Paradise, Boys are Back).
- 1985 - Birth of Nam Gyu-Ri; Korean singer (See Ya).
- 1986 - In Himachal Pradesh, India, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurs. Six people killed, about 30 injured and 85 percent of the houses damaged in the Dharmsala, India area.
- 1986 - Baseball game between California Angels and Minnesota Twins delayed for 9 minutes by strong winds.
- 1986 - Bessie Love, actress (Broadway Melody, Isadora), dies at age 87.
- 1986 - Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Marshall Holman.
- 1986 - France performs nuclear test.
- 1986 - In Ukraine, one of the reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear plant explodes, caused by pressurized steam in the cooling system during a maintenance test. 9 tons of radioactive material is released into the air. The nearby city of Pripyat is evacuated; the power plant is covered with 5000 tons of concrete. 41 are killed directly by the incident, about 4000 die prematurely from cancer in later years, many thousands more are exposed to significant amounts of radioactive material, and vast territories in Ukraine and Belarus are rendered uninhabitable.
- 1986 - Death of Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (born 1899).
- 1986 - [William] Broderick Crawford, American actor (Highway Patrol), dies at age 74 (born 1911).
- 1987 - The syndicated TV show Today's Business is cancelled, after losing close to US$5 million in seven months.
- 1988 - First TNN Viewers Choice Awards-Randy Travis wins in five categories.
- 1988 - NBA approves addition of third referee in the 1988-89 season.
- 1988 - New York Mets' Davey Johnson becomes second manager to record 400 victory in first four years (Al Lopez did it first).
- 1989 - Sultan Azlan Muhibbudin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yusuff Izzudin Shah Ghafarullahu-lahu, Sultan of Perak, becomes the 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- 1989 - Death of Lucille Ball of an aortic aneurism at age 77; actress/comedienne (I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy).
- 1990 - In Qinghai Province, China, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake occurs. At least 126 people killed.
- 1990 - Carlos Pizarro Leongomez, Colombian presidential candidate, is assassinated.
- 1990 - New York court of appeals ends 2.5 year legal battle over 1988 America's Cup by refusing jurisdiction of the case.
- 1990 - Nolan Ryan ties Bob Feller's record of pitching 12 one-hitters.
- 1991 - 70 tornadoes break out in the central United States, killing 17. The most notable tornado of the day strikes Andover, Kansas.
- 1991 - Emily McLaughlin, US actress (Jessie - General Hospital), dies at age 61.
- 1991 - Soccer star Diego Maradona, suspended for using cocaine, arrested in Argentina for possession and distribution of illegal narcotics.
- 1991 - The ABC TV network begins airing the series Dinosaurs.
- 1992 - Offshore Cape Mendocino, California, magnitude 6.5 and 6.7 earthquakes occur, 3.5 hours apart. Felt throughout much of northern California and southern Oregon.
- 1992 - Grand Hotel closes at Martin Beck Theater New York City after 1,018 performances.
- 1992 - Alberta Vaughn, actress (Wild Horse, Silver Devil), dies at age 87.
- 1992 - Alex Haley, (Roots), wins 1992 Ellis Island Award, posthumously.
- 1992 - Maggie Will wins LPGA Sara Lee Golf Classic.
- 1992 - Ozzie Smith steals his 500th base.
- 1993 - Boeing 737 crashes at Aurangabad, kills 56.
- 1993 - NBC announces Conan O'Brien is to replace David Lettermann as host of late night TV show.
- 1993 - STS-55 (Columbia) launches into orbit.
- 1994 - Tuanku Jaafar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, becomes the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- 1994 - First multi-racial election in South Africa begins; Dr Nomaza Paintin in New Zealand is first black South African to vote.
- 1994 - 26.9 degrees C in Prestebakke, Norway (Norwegian April high temperature record).
- 1994 - Taiwan Airbus A-300 crashes at Nagoya, Japan, 262 killed.
- 1995 - American baseball season begins after lengthy strike.
- 1995 - Coors Field opens in Denver; Colorado Rockies beat New York Mets 11-9 in 14 innings.
- 1996 - John Norrie McArthur, malariologist/microscopist, dies at age 94.
- 1996 - Shaun Pollock takes four wickets in four balls for Warwickshire in B&H.
- 1996 - Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer, dies at age 78 (born 1918).
- 1997 - Joey Faye, comic (Fruit of the Loom grapes), dies at age 86.
- 1997 - Peng Zhen, mayor of Beijing, China (1951-66), dies.
- 1997 - Yegorov, Russian leader (1994-95), dies.
- 1998 - FOX airs the 200th episode of The Simpsons animated TV show.
- 1999 - Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj, Sultan of Selangor, becomes the 11th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- 1999 - British TV presenter Jill Dando, age 37, is shot dead on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, London.
- 1999 - Nintendo releases the Super Smash Bros. game for the Nintendo 64 video game system in the USA.
- 2001 - Junichiro Koizumi becomes Prime Minister of Japan.
- 2001 - NBC airs the 100th episode of Just Shoot Me TV show.
- 2002 - Robert Steinhäuser opens fire on his former teachers and other students in Erfurt, Germany and then kills himself; 16 are dead.
- 2003 - Death of Peter Stone, American writer (born 1930).
- 2004 - The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing introduces new US$50 Federal Reserve notes, incorporating color and more complex security elements.
- 2004 - Heinz Fischer is elected the new president of Austria.
- 2005 - Facing international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29 year military domination of that country.
- 2005 - Death of Mason Adams at age 86; actor (Pepper Young's Family radio show, Lou Grant TV show, commercial voice-overs (Smuckers Jams)).
- 2007 - Russians riot in Tallinn, Estonia, about moving the Bronze Soldier. Two nights of rioting leave one dead.
- 2007 - Death of Jack Valenti, American film executive, creator of MPAA film rating system (born 1921).
- 2008 - A fire at a mattress factory in Casablanca, Morocco, kills 55 people.
- 2009 - Iceland's leftist coalition of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement wins the country's general election, taking 34 of the 63 seats in parliament, defeating the Independence Party that many blamed for the collapse of the country's banking system. New Prime Minister is Johanna Sigurdardottir of the Social Democrats.
- 2009 - In Argentina, round 5 of the FIA World Rally Championship is won by Sébastien Loeb.
- 2009 - In Motegi, Japan, round 2 of the FIM MotoGP Championship is won by Jorge Lorenzo.
- 2009 - In Sakhir, Bahrain, round 4 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship is won by Jenson Button.
- 2009 - In London, England, the British Academy Television Awards ceremony is held.
- Best actor: Stephen Dillane for The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall;
- Best actress: Anna Maxwell Martin for Poppy Shakespeare;
- Best entertainment performance: Harry Hill for Harry Hill's TV Burp;
- Best comedy performance: David Mitchell for Peep Show;
- Best single drama: White Girl;
- Best drama serial: Criminal Justice;
- Best drama series: Wallander;
- Best continuing drama: The Bill;
- Best factual series: Amazon with Bruce Parry;
- Best entertainment programme: The X Factor;
- Best situation comedy: The IT Crowd;
- Best comedy programme: Harry and Paul;
- Best single documentary: Chosen;
- Best feature: The Choir: Boys Don't Sing;
- Best international show: Mad Men;
- Best specialist factual: Life in Cold Blood;
- Best current affairs: Saving Africa's Witch Children - Dispatches;
- Best news coverage: News at Ten - Chinese Earthquake;
- Best sport: ITV1 F1: Brazilian Grand Prix;
- Best interactivity: Embarrassing Bodies Online;
- Audience award: Skins;
- Special Award: Jane Tranter;
- Bafta Fellowship: French and Saunders.
- 2010 - First baseman Ryan Howard agrees to a US$125 million five-year contract extension with the Philadelphia Phillies.
- 2010 - Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is declared the winner of the national elections, with 68 percent of the vote.
- 2012 - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is found guilty on 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
- 2012 - Supreme Court of Pakistan convicts Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani of contempt of court, for refusing to ask Swiss authorities to re-open money-laundering cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
- 2016 - Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces France will build six new submarines for Australia, at a cost of A$50 billion (US$38 billion).
- 2019 - The Movie "Avengers: Endgame" is released in theaters, becoming the highest grossing movie of all time.
- 2020 - King Salman issues a royal decree, declaring that people will no longer be executed in Saudi Arabia for crimes they were convicted of when they were minors.
- 2022 - Death of Klaus Schulze at age 74; composer (Tangerine Dream group, godfather of techno music).
|
|
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.
|