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What happened in history on this day: April 2?
Since 1995, I have been collecting information on a variety of topics,
creating several timelines of history.
Here you will find specific events from those databases
for this day, on the topics of personal computers, video games, the Walt Disney Company,
Chevrolet Corvettes, A&W Root Beer, Sweden, and Canadian coins.
On April 2 in ...
- 1986 - IBM introduces the IBM PC Convertible laptop computer. It features 80C88 processor, 256 kB RAM, LCD screen, and two 3.5-inch 720 kB floppy disk drives. The detachable LCD screen can be replaced by a high-resolution monitor. Weight is 12 pounds; price is US$2000; size is 14 x 12 inches.
- 1986 - IBM announces a new version of the IBM PC AT, with an 8 MHz 80286 processor.
- 1987 - In New York and Miami, IBM introduces the IBM Personal System/2 (PS/2) line, with IBM's first 386 PC, and 3.5-inch floppy drives as standard. The Model 30 features 8 MHz 8086 processor, 640 kB RAM, 720 kB 3.5-inch floppy drive, 20 MB hard drive, three expansion slots, PC-DOS 3.3, for US$1695-2295. Model 50 features 10 MHz 80286 processor, 1 kB RAM, 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy drive, 20 MB hard drive, three expansion slots, PC-DOS 3.3, OS/2, for US$3595. Model 60 features 10 MHz 80286 processor, 1 kB RAM, 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy drive, 44 or 70 MB hard drive, seven expansion slots, PC-DOS 3.3, OS/2, for US$5295-6295. Model 80 features 20 MHz 80386 processor, 2 kB RAM, 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy drive, 44/70/115 MB hard drive, seven expansion slots, PC-DOS 3.3, OS/2, for US$6995-10995.
- 1987 - IBM unveils its Video Graphics Array (VGA) in its Model 50 and higher of the PS/2 line. VGA offers 256 simultaneous colors at a resolution of 320x200, and 16 colors at 640x480. The colors displayed have six bits of depth for each primary color, giving a palette of 262,144 different colors to select from.
- 1987 - IBM unveils its Multicolor Graphics Array (MCGA) on its PS/2 Model 30. The MCGA is limited to 64K of memory, limiting 640x480 resolution to just 2 colors, but still allowing 320x200 in 256 colors.
- 1987 - IBM introduces its Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) on its Model 50 and higher of the PS/2 line.
- 1987 - IBM announces the 8514/A Display Adapter, a high-resolution graphics card for the MCA PS/2 line. The 8514/A adds 1024x768 in 16 colors to the standard VGA, at a cost of US$1290. With the addition of a US$270 Memory Expansion Kit, 640x480 and 1024x768 resolutions can be had in 256 colors.
- 1987 - IBM and Microsoft announce Operating System/2 (OS/2), Standard Edition for the IBM PS/2 computer line.
- 1987 - IBM announces Operating System/2, Extended Edition, Version 1.1.
- 1987 - IBM announces DOS 3.3 for PCs, for US$120. It adds support for 1.44 MB floppy disks, and multiple 32 MB hard drive partitions.
- 1987 - Microsoft announces Microsoft Windows 2.0.
- 1997 - The second JavaOne developers' conference is held. Over 10,000 attend.
- 1997 - Advanced Micro Devices introduces the K6 processor, featuring MMX instructions and dual 32 kB on-chip caches. Speeds and prices in 1000-unit quantities are 166 MHz (US$244), 200 MHz (US$349), 233 MHz (US$469). The processor incorporates 8.8 million transistors in a 0.35 micron process, and is based on the NexGen Nx686.
- 1997 - Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia announces he has acquired 5 percent of Apple Computer for US$115 million, becoming the company's largest shareholder.
- 1998 - Intel introduces the Mobile Pentium II processor, in speeds of 233 and 266 MHz. It features 66 MHz memory bus, and a bus to the Level 2 cache at half the processor clock speed. Code-name during development was Mobile Deschutes.
- 2002 - Intel releases the 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 processor, with 400 MHz front-side bus. Price is US$562 in 1000-unit quantities.
- 2004 - Sun Microsystems and Microsoft sign a ten-year cooperative agreement, settling long-standing hostilities. The agreement includes server technology cross-licensing, US$700 million paid to Sun to resolve pending antitrust issues, US$900 million paid to Sun to resolve patent issues, and US$350 million paid to Sun in royalty payments. Sun and Microsoft will collaborate on Java and .NET technologies.
- 2008 - At the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, China, Intel introduces the low-power Atom microprocessor, in speeds up to 1.86 GHz.
- 1928 - Universal Pictures releases the 17th Oswald the Lucky Rabbit film Sagebrush Sadie to theaters.
- 1930 - Clarabelle Cow is first used in the Mickey Mouse comic strip.
- 1934 - Ward Kimball begins work at the Disney Studios as an apprentice.
- 1940 - Walt Disney Productions first offers shares in the company to the public. 155,000 shares of preferred stock are offered at US$25 per share, and 600,000 of common stock for US$5 per share. US$3.5 million is raised from the stock offering.
- 1943 - The Pluto film Private Pluto is released to theaters. Chip and Dale make their first appearance, though unnamed.
- 1954 - ABC and Disney boards approve the ownership and financing deal for Disneyland.
- 1954 - Disney and ABC hold a joint press conference, announcing their agreement for the Disney TV show.
- 1961 - The ABC TV network airs the Walt Disney Presents TV show, featuring the Zorro episode Auld Acquaintance.
- 1967 - The NBC TV network airs the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color show, entitled A Salute to Alaska with Ludwig von Drake.
- 1972 - The NBC TV network airs The Wonderful World of Disney show, entitled Michael O'Hara the Fourth: The Deceptive Detective.
- 1984 - Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 10-millionth guest.
- 1985 - Tokyo Disneyland welcomes its 20-millionth guest.
- 1993 - The Aladdin's Royal Caravan parade begins at Disneyland.
- 1993 - Disney releases the Walt Disney Pictures live-action feature film The Adventures of Huck Finn to theaters in the US.
- 1997 - Uganda issues 27 postage stamps depicting scenes from the film Toy Story.
- 1997 - The WB Network premieres the Disney TV show Smart Guy.
- 1997 - The mayor of New York City, the governor of New York state, and Michael Eisner unveil the restored New Amsterdam theater in New York City.
- 1999 - The Sounds Dangerous show opens at the ABC Sound Studio in Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World.
- 2001 - Spectromagic re-starts in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
- 2004 - Disney releases the animated feature film Home on the Range to theaters in the USA.
- 2004 - Disney Interactive releases the Disney's Home on the Range video game for the Game Boy Advance in the US. Price is US$29.95.
- 2004 - The Big Thunder Ranch area in Disneyland is modified to include name "Little Patch of Heaven", with log cabin renamed Pearl's Cottage.
- 2016 - The Writer's Stop shop at Disney-MGM Studios in Walt Disney World closes.
- 1960 - At Riverside, a car race is held.
- Finishing 1st overall is the Harry Mann Chevrolet #222 Corvette driven by Vince Mayell.
- Finishing 2nd overall is the #166 Corvette driven by Bob Dickson.
- Finishing 4th overall is the #41 Corvette driven by Scott Briley.
- Finishing 7th overall is the #11 Corvette driven by Denny O'Neill.
- Finishing 10th overall is the #132 Corvette driven by Bob Hoffland.
- Finishing 11th overall is the #10 Corvette driven by A. D. Edinger.
- 1970 - The 52nd Annual New York Automobile Show is held. Chevrolet unveils the experimental transverse mid-engined XP-882 Corvette prototype. Ford shows its Pantera, and American Motors shows its AMX/3, both mid-engine prototypes.
- 1978 - In Talladega, Alabama, an IMSA six-hour race is held.
- Finishing 5th in GTX class and 6th overall is the Dale Kreider #1 Corvette driven by Dale Kreider and Bruce Davidson.
- Finishing 6th in GTX class and 8th overall is the Rick Hay #68 Corvette driven by Rick Hay and Phil Currin.
- Finishing 2nd in GTO class and 20th overall is the RJV Enterprises #65 Corvette driven by Richard Valentine and Roger Pierce.
- Placing 14th in GTX class and 35th overall is the Shulnburg Scrap Metal #06 Corvette driven by Michael Keyser and R. V. Shulnberg.
- 1941 - German Africa Corps forces capture Agedabn from retreating British.
- 1941 - Hungarian Prime Minister Count Teleki kills himself, rather than agree to Adolf Hitler's demand to allow passage of German troops to Yugoslavia. However, the Hungarian Chief of General Staff accedes to the demand.
- 1942 - (about 0100 hours) German submarine U-123 repeatedly fires shells on American oil tanker SS Liebre. As it submerges to fire a finishing torpedo, it is scared off by sighting Canadian motor torpedo boat MTB-332.
- 1943 - (evening) British Bombers make a final attack on German submarine bases at St. Nazaire and Lorient.
- 1944 - Adolf Hitler issues Operation Order 7, instructing Army Group A, Army Group South, and Army Group Centre to hold a line against Russian advances.
- 1945 - A special train carries rockets and 500 technicians and engineers, escorted by 100 SS troopers, to an Alpine redoubt in Bavaria, under orders of chief of SS secret weapon empire Hans Kammler, to bargain with Allies.
- 1945 - American forces seize Tawitawi in the Sulu Archipelago, 30 miles off north-east Borneo.
- 1990 - St. Vincent issues eleven postage stamps depicting various events of World War II.
- 1990 - The Grenadines of St. Vincent issues eleven postage stamps depicting battles of World War II.
- 1998 - Sony CEA sells the 10 millionth PlayStation video game system in North America.
- 2005 - In New York City, the Design and Technology department of Parsons School of Design hosts "Retro Redux", a 24-hour competition of participants from five New York design schools to create a game to the same specifications used for the Atari 2600. Nine teams compete. The winning game, Ninja Garden, by Club Awesome, will be included in a future release of Atari's Flashback video game system.
- 2006 - The Fox Broadcasting Company airs The Simpsons TV show in the US. A Swedish Volvo car appears.
- 1990 - The A & W Concentrate Company renews its registered trademark of a bull's eye logo with "A & W ROOT BEER" granted in 1930.
- 1982 - The Toronto International Coin Fair is held, over three days. About 3100 people attend.
- 1999 - A Royal proclamation specifies that the design of a 1999 $2 nickel coin mark the creation of Nunavut, and depict an Inuit person beating a drum.
- 2008 - Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre Pat Martin (NDP) introduces a private member's bill in the House of Commons to eliminate the 1-cent coin from circulation.
- 1783 - Robert Morris strikes first 1783 Nova Constellatio patterns.
- 1792 - US President George Washington signs the Coinage Act, establishing the US Mint; authorizing $10 eagle, $5 half eagle and $2.50 quarter eagle gold coins; authorizing dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar, dime and half dime silver coins; authorizing cent and half cent copper coins. Coins in units of milles are also authorized. The silver dollar is to be equal in value to Spanish milled dollar, with weight 416 grains, 0.8924 fine silver. The half cent is to be struck on pure copper, 5.5 pennyweight or 132 grains or 8.55345 grams. Gold and silver coins are legal tender, but copper coins are not.
- 1802 - Representative William Giles of Virgina introduces a bill to repeal the Act Establishing a Mint, and directing the President to liquidate its assets.
- 1867 - US Senate confirms Henry R. Linderman as US Mint Director.
- 2009 - The US Mint launches the 2009 Puerto Rico quarter dollar in Paseo La Princesa, Puerto Rico.
- 2012 - The US Mint releases the 2012 Chaco Culture National Historic Park quarter dollar coin to circulation.
- 1906 - South Africa completes a 4-1 cricket series drubbing of England.
- 1908 - Mills Committee declares baseball was invented by Abner Doubleday.
- 1931 - Teenage girl strikes out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
- 1939 - 6th Golf Masters Championship: Ralph Guldahl wins, shooting a 279.
- 1955 - Pancho Gonzales retains tennis title by winning a tournament playing under table tennis rules.
- 1955 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright.
- 1955 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Hayes A Jenkins.
- 1967 - Susie Maxwell wins LPGA Louise Suggs Golf Invitational.
- 1969 - Milwaukee Bucks sign Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor).
- 1974 - Tony Greig takes 8-86 versus West Indies Port-of-Spain (later 5-70 in second inning).
- 1976 - Oakland Athletics trade prospective free agents Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman to Baltimore Orioles for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell.
- 1977 - Montreal Canadiens set NHL record of 34 straight home games without a loss.
- 1978 - 7th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Sandra Post.
- 1978 - Basil Williams scores 100 on Test Cricket debut, versus Australia Georgetown.
- 1980 - Wayne Gretzky becomes first teenager to score 50 goals in an NHL season.
- 1982 - In exhibition game Oakland Athletics' pitcher Steve McCatty comes to bat using a 15-inch toy bat (under Billy Martin's orders), protesting disallowing of designated hitter.
- 1984 - 46th NCAA Mens Basketball Championship: Georgetown beats Houston 84-75.
- 1986 - NCAA adopts 3-point basketball rule (19 feet 9 inch distance).
- 1988 - Simply Majestic sets horse racing's 1-1/8 mile record at 1:45.
- 1988 - Test Cricket debut of Curtly Ambrose, West Indies versus Pakistan, Georgetown.
- 1989 - 18th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Juli Inkster.
- 1989 - 8th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Tennessee beats Auburn 76-60.
- 1989 - New York Yankees beat New York Mets 4-0, sweeping 1989 mayor's trophy series in two games.
- 1990 - 52nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Nevada-Las Vegas beats Duke 103-73.
- 1994 - First exhibition game played at Jacobs Field, Pittsburgh Pirates beat Cleveland Indians, 6-4.
- 1995 - 14th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: University of Connecticut Huskies beats Tennessee 70-64.
- 1995 - 7th Seniors Golf Tradition: Jack Nicklaus.
- 1995 - Major League Baseball owners accept baseball players' return-to-work proposal, agree to delay start of season until April 26.
- 1996 - Sri Lanka 9-349 in 50 overs beat Pakistan 315 all out, Singapore; Jayasuriya hits ton in 48 balls, world ODI record at Singapore.
- 1996 - Detroit Tigers' slugger Cecil Fielder steals first base in 1,097th career game.
- 1997 - Chicago White Sox agree to pay Albert Belle US$10 million for the season.
- 1998 - World Mens Figure Skating Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Russian Alexei Yagudin wins.
- 2003 - Todd Zeile becomes the only major league player to hit a home run for ten different teams: New York Yankees, Detroit Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, and Colorado Rockies.
- 2008 - Liam Tancock of Exeter, England, sets new world record 50m backstroke of 24.47 seconds, at Pond's Forge, Sheffield, England.
- 2022 - At SAP Center in San Jose, California, USA, NHL regular season game: Dallas Stars beats San Jose Sharks by score 5-4.
- 2022 - At Scotiabank Saddledrome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, NHL regular season game: Saint Louis Blues beats Calgary Flames by score 6-4.
- 2022 - At Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, NHL regular season game: Los Angeles Kings beats Winnipeg Jets by score 3-2.
- 2022 - At PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, NHL regular season game: Minnesota Wild beats Carolina Hurricanes by score 3-1.
- 2022 - At Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, NHL regular season game: Toronto Maple Leafs beats Philadelphia Flyers by score 6-3.
- 2022 - At Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, USA, NHL regular season game: Montreal Canadiens beats Tampa Bay Lightning by score 5-4.
- 2022 - At TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, NHL regular season game: Boston Bruins beats Columbus Blue Jackets by score 5-2.
- 2022 - At Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, USA, NHL regular season game: Colorado Avalanche beats Pittsburgh Penguins by score 3-2.
- 2022 - At Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA, NHL regular season game: Florida Panthers beats New Jersey Devils by score 7-6.
- 1958 - American National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA.
- 1963 - Explorer 17 attains Earth orbit (254/914 km).
- 1963 - USSR launches Luna 4; misses Moon by 8,500 km.
- 1964 - USSR launches Zond 1 to Venus; no data returned.
- 1966 - Soviet Union's Luna 10 becomes first spacecraft to orbit Moon.
- 1984 - Soyuz T-11 carries three cosmonauts (one Indian-Rakesh Sharma) to Salyut 7.
- 1992 - Space Shuttle STS-45 (Atlantis 11) lands.
- 1958 - Wind speed reaches 450 kph in tornado in Wichita Falls, Texas, USA (record).
- 1792 - US President George Washington signs the Coinage Act, establishing the US Mint, and authorizes $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle and $2.50 quarter-Eagle gold (24.75 grains) coins and dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar, dime and half-dime silver (371.25 grains) coins. Coins of gold and silver are legal tender, but copper metal coins are not.
- 1802 - A bill is introduced in Congress to repeal the Act Establishing a Mint, and directing the President to liquidate the assets of the Mint.
- 1819 - First successful agricultural journal (The American Farmer) begins.
- 1863 - Bread revolt in Richmond, Virginia.
- 1864 - Skirmish at Crump's Hill (Piney Woods), Louisiana.
- 1864 - Skirmish at Spoonville/Antoine, Arkansas.
- 1865 - Ambrose Powell Hill, Confederate General, killed in action at age 39.
- 1865 - Battle of Fort Blakely and Selma, Alabama.
- 1865 - Battle of Petersburg, Virginia (Fort Gregg, Sutherland's Station).
- 1865 - CSA President Jefferson Davis flees Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
- 1865 - General A P Hill is killed by a Federal Picket.
- 1865 - Confederate General Robert Lee's line is broken at Petersberg.
- 1866 - US President Andrew Johnson ends war in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
- 1867 - US Senate confirms Henry R. Linderman as US Mint Director.
- 1902 - First motion picture theater opens (Los Angeles, California, USA).
- 1917 - Jeanette Rankin becomes (first woman) member of US House of Representatives, for Montana.
- 1917 - US President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany.
- 1921 - Professor Albert Einstein lectures in New York City on his new theory of relativity.
- 1930 - First New York-Bermuda airplane flight lands in Bermuda.
- 1932 - Charles Lindbergh turns over $50,000 as ransom for kidnapped son.
- 1940 - Walt Disney Productions first offers shares in the company to the public. 155,000 shares of preferred stock are offered at US$25 per share, and 600,000 of common stock for US$5 per share. US$3.5 million is raised from the stock offering.
- 1941 - Aircraft carrier USS Hornet with Jimmy Doolittle's B-25 planes departs from San Francisco, California, for surprise raid on Japan.
- 1945 - First US units reach east coast of Okinawa, Japan.
- 1958 - American National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA.
- 1963 - Explorer 17 attains Earth orbit (254/914 km).
- 1968 - Senator Eugene McCarthy wins Democratic primary in Wisconsin.
- 1970 - The 52nd Annual New York Automobile Show is held in New York, USA. Chevrolet unveils the experimental transverse mid-engined XP-882 Corvette prototype. Ford shows its Pantera, and American Motors shows its AMX/3, both mid-engine prototypes.
- 1972 - 44th Academy Awards - French Connection, Gene Hackman and Jane Fonda win.
- 1973 - CBS radio begins on-hour news 24 hours a day.
- 1973 - International Telephone And Telegraph pleads guilty to asking US Central Intelligence Agency to affect Chilean presidential election.
- 1974 - 46th Academy Awards - The Sting, Glenda Jackson and Jack Lemmon win.
- 1985 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1986 - Four US passengers killed by bomb at Trans World Airlines counter in Athens Airport, Greece.
- 1986 - George Corley Wallace (Governor-Democrat-Alabama) announces retirement plans.
- 1987 - IBM announces its new Personal System/2 computers, with VGA 256-color graphics, Micro Channel Architecture, Operating System/2, and 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy disk drive.
- 1992 - In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of the murder of mob boss Paul Castellano and racketeering, and is later sentenced to life in prison.
- 1995 - New York Police Department and New York Transit Police merge into one organization.
- 1995 - North and Western Colorado begin using new area code 970.
- 1996 - U.S. Mafioso John Gotti is found guilty of murdering Paul Castellano.
- 2003 - A US B-52 bomber drops two new CBU-105 bombs over Iraq, which each release 10 submunitions, each ejecting four discs, which then use laser and heat-detecting infrared sensors to locate Iraqi armored vehicles. Slugs of copper the size of a tangerine then strike and destroy about 30 vehicles in a column of about 100.
- 2007 - New Century, a large American mortgage lender, files for bankruptcy protection.
- 2009 - The U.S. House of Representatives passes a federal budget for fiscal 2010 starting October 1, voting 233-196 to pass the US$3.45 trillion budget.
Other history:
- 1982 - Several thousand Argentine troops seize disputed Falkland (Malvinas) Islands.
- 2005 - Pope John Paul II dies; over four million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him.
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