This Day in History
April 20

Copyright © 2006-2024 Ken Polsson
internet e-mail: ken@kpolsson.com
URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing a single day's events)

What happened in history on this day: April 20?

On April 20 in ...

  • 295 - Eighth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
  • 850 - Guntherus becomes bishop of Cologne.
  • 1139 - Second Lateran Council (10th ecumenical council) opens in Rome.
  • 1164 - Victor IV [Ottaviano Montecello] Italian antipope (1159-64), dies.
  • 1314 - Clement V [Bertrand Got] pope (1305-14) move papacy to Avignon, dies.
  • 1317 - Agnes van Montepulciano Italian mystic/saint, dies.
  • 1442 - Birth of Edward IV King (England, 1461-83).
  • 1494 - Birth of John Agricola [Schneider] in Eisleben, Germany; German theologist/prime minister, proponent of the concept that Christian grace replaces the Ten Commandments.
  • 1505 - Jews are expelled from Orange Burgundy by Philibert of Luxembourg.
  • 1534 - Elizabeth Barton [Nun of Kent] British prophet, is executed.
  • 1551 - John Dudley becomes English Earl Marshal.
  • 1592 - Birth of John Eliot Saint Germans Cornwall, English Member of Parliament/author.
  • 1594 - Birth of Matthaus Apelles von Lowenstern composer.
  • 1632 - Nicolas Antione converted to Judiasm, burned at the stake.
  • 1650 - VOC-management sets new guidelines.
  • 1653 - Oliver Cromwell forcibly dissolves the Rump Parliament.
  • 1657 - Battle in Santa Cruz Bay, Tenerife English fleet under Robert Blake sinks Spanish silver fleet.
  • 1690 - English frigate Six Friends, with Porcupine, Mary, and four other ships, under command of William Phips, with a total of 736 men, sail north from Boston, Massachusetts to eliminate the French from Acadia.
  • 1695 - Georg Caspar Weckler composer, dies at age 63.
  • 1702 - Comet C/1702 H1 approaches within 0.0437 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth.
  • 1705 - French and Spanish leave Gibraltar, leaving behind 12,000 dead, wounded, or missing troops.
  • 1707 - Death of Johann Christoph Denner in Leipzig, Germany; musical instrument maker, invented the clarinet.
  • 1715 - Nicholas Rowe's "Tragedy of Lady Jane Gray", premieres in London.
  • 1726 - Birth of Jozef de Ferraris French/Austrian earl/General/cartographer.
  • 1745 - Birth of Philippe Pinel physician, founder of psychiatry.
  • 1759 - Georg Friedrich Händel buried in Westminster Abbey.
  • 1768 - Giovanni AC Canaletto Italian painter/cartoonist (Rialto), dies at age 70.
  • 1769 - Pontiac Indian chief to Ottawa, murdered.
  • 1770 - Captain Cook arrives in New South Wales.
  • 1777 - New York adopts new constitution as an independent state.
  • 1792 - France declares war on Austria, starting French Revolutionary Wars.
  • 1799 - Napoleon issues a decree calling for establishing Jerusalem for Jews.
  • 1808 - Birth of Louis-Napoleon; emperor of France (Napoleon III, 1852-71).
  • 1809 - Birth of John Smith Preston; Brigadier General (Confederate Army) (dies 1881).
  • 1812 - Death of George Clinton at age 73; fourth US Vice President, first Vice President to die in office.
  • 1820 - Arthur Young, author (Annals of Agriculture), dies.
  • 1824 - Birth of Alfred Holt Colquitt; Brigadier General (Confederate Army) (dies 1894).
  • 1827 - Birth of John Gibbon; Major General (US volunteers) (dies 1896).
  • 1832 - US Congress passes legislation making the Hot Springs Reservation in Arkansas the first nationally protected area in the USA. This is also the first effort in the world to set aside protected lands.
  • 1836 - Johan I Jozef, monarch of Liechtenstein/fieldmarshal, dies at age 75.
  • 1839 - Birth of Carol I, King of Romania (1881-1914).
  • 1840 - Birth of Odilon Redon; French painter/author (La nuit, Rêves).
  • 1850 - Birth of Daniel Chester; French/American sculptor (The Minute Man).
  • 1853 - Antonio López de Santa Anna becomes President (11th time) of Mexico.
  • 1857 - Birth of Charles LP "Philip" Zilcken; painter/author (HW Knife Day).
  • 1860 - Birth of Charles Gordon Curtis; US attorney/inventor (Curtis Turbine).
  • 1860 - Birth of Pieter Jelles Troelstra; Dutch Member of Parliament (SDAP).
  • 1865 - Birth of Max HHR Nettlau; Austrian historian (Le Première Internationale).
  • 1865 - Chicago's Crosby Opera House opens.
  • 1871 - Third Enforcement Act (President can suspend writ of habeas corpus).
  • 1871 - Japan issues its first postage stamps.
  • 1871 - Birth of William Henry Davies in Wales; poet (Autobiography of a Super Tramp).
  • 1872 - Ljudwit Gaj Croatian, writer/poet (Pjesma iz Zagorja), dies at age 62.
  • 1876 - Birth of Gerard J Arbous; actor/publicist (Prince William of Orange).
  • 1879 - First mobile home (horse drawn) used in a journey from London to Cyprus.
  • 1879 - Birth of Robert Lynd; Irish writer/critic (Pleasures of Ignorance).
  • 1881 - Birth of Nikolai Miaskovsky in Novogeorievsk, Poland; composer (Kirov is With Us).
  • 1884 - Pope Leo XIII issues encyclical On Freemasonry.
  • 1889 - Birth of Adolf Hitler in Braunau, Austria; dictator of Germany (1936-45).
  • 1890 - Birth of Adolf Schärf; President of Austria (1957-65).
  • 1893 - Birth of Edna Parker; died at age 115 in USA, world's oldest living person.
  • 1893 - Birth of Harold Lloyd in Burchard, Nebraska, USA; silent comic (Why Worry, Safety Last).
  • 1893 - Birth of Joan Miró in Spain; painter/sculptor (Dog Barking at the Moon).
  • 1894 - 136,000 mine workers strike in Ohio for pay increase.
  • 1896 - First public film showing in US: John Philip Sousa's El Capitán, premieres in New York City.
  • 1897 - Birth of Bernard Verhoeven; poet/literature (About the Laugh).
  • 1897 - Birth of Gregory Ratoff in Petrograd, Russia; actor/director (Corsican Brothers).
  • 1898 - US Congress adopts a Joint Declaration of War against Spain.
  • 1902 - Birth of Donald Wolfit in England; actor (Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, Accursed).
  • 1902 - Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radioactive element radium.
  • 1903 - 7th Boston Marathon won by John Lorden of Massachusetts in 2:41:29.8.
  • 1903 - Birth of Dagmar Edqvist; Swedish author (Kamrathustru - Wife and Comrade).
  • 1904 - Birth of Bruce Cabot in Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA; actor (Diamonds are Forever, King Kong).
  • 1905 - A typhoon hits the Caroline Islands, causing immense damage to trees, buildings, birds, fish. 12 people killed, 2 ships sunk.
  • 1906 - Australian wombat, oldest known marsupial, dies in London Zoo at age 26.
  • 1907 - Birth of Miran Bux; cricket player (his one season of Test and first-class play 1954-55).
  • 1908 - 12th Boston Marathon won by Tom Morrissey of New York in 2:25:43.2.
  • 1908 - Birth of Wilhelmus M Bekkers; bishop of Hertogenbosch.
  • 1908 - Henry Chadwick, sports reporter (baseball), dies at age 85.
  • 1909 - Birth of Lionel Hampton; orchestra leader/vibraphone improviser (Depths Below).
  • 1910 - Halley's Comet passes 29th recorded perihelion at 87.9 million km.
  • 1912 - Birth of David Townsend; cricket player (3 Tests England versus West Indies 1935).
  • 1912 - Birth of Ed Jones; American politician (Representative-Democrat-Tennessee, 1969-).
  • 1912 - Birth of Soewarsil Djojopoespito in Indonesia; writer (Toe the Line).
  • 1912 - Bram Stoker, Irish theater manager/writer (Dracula), dies.
  • 1912 - Boston's Fenway Park officially opens, Boston Red Sox beat New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11 innings.
  • 1912 - Tiger Stadium in Detroit opens, Detroit Tigers beat Cleveland Naps 6-5.
  • 1912 - Maiden voyage of the France ocean liner from Le Havre, France, to New York.
  • 1913 - Birth of Dick Wessel in Wisconsin, USA; actor (Dick Tracy versus Cueball, Beware of Blondie).
  • 1914 - 18th Boston Marathon won by James Duffy of Canada in 2:25:01.2.
  • 1914 - 33 killed by soldiers during mine strike in Ludlow, Colorado, USA.
  • 1916 - First National League game at Weeghman Park (Wrigley Field) in Chicago opens, Chicago Cubs beat Cincinnati Reds 7-6.
  • 1916 - German-British sea battle off Belgian coast.
  • 1918 - Reginald Harry Mybirgh Hands, cricket player (one Test for South Africa), dies.
  • 1919 - Polish Army captures Vilno, Lithuania from Soviet Army.
  • 1920 - (to September 12) The Games of the VII Olympiad are held in Antwerp, Belgium.
  • 1920 - Balfour Declaration recognized, makes Palestine a British Mandate.
  • 1920 - Birth of John Paul Stevens in Chicago, Illinois, USA; 103rd Supreme Court Justice (1975-).
  • 1920 - Philadelphia Phillies' manager Gravvy Cravath puts himself in as pinch hitter, makes a three-run homer and beats New York Giants 3-0.
  • 1920 - Tornadoes kill 219 in Alabama and Mississippi, USA.
  • 1923 - Birth of Tito Puente in Puerto Rico; bandleader (Dance Mania).
  • 1924 - Birth of Nina Foch in Leiden, Netherlands; actress (An American in Paris).
  • 1924 - Birth of Paul M Van Buren; US theologist (Theological Explorations).
  • 1925 - 29th Boston Marathon won by Charles Mellor of Illinois in 2:33:00.6.
  • 1925 - Birth of Ernie Stautner; NFL defensive tackle (Pittsburgh Steelers)/WLAF head coach (Frankfurt Galaxy).
  • 1926 - First check sent by radio facsimile transmission across the Atlantic.
  • 1926 - Birth of Harriett Elizabeth Byrd; politician (Wyoming House of Representatives).
  • 1927 - Birth of Karl Müller in Switzerland; superconductivity physicist (Nobel Prize 1987).
  • 1929 - Birth of Bob Braun in Ludlow, Kentucky, USA; singer (Dotty Mack Show).
  • 1930 - Birth of Alan Oakman; cricket player (England batsman against Australia 1956).
  • 1931 - 35th Boston Marathon won by Jim Henigan of Massachusetts in 2:46:45.8.
  • 1931 - Birth of Lee H Hamilton in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; American politician (Representative-Democrat-Indiana, 1965-).
  • 1931 - British House of Commons agrees to allow sports play on Sunday.
  • 1931 - Death of Cosmo Duff-Gordon, British baronet and Titanic survivor (born 1862).
  • 1933 - US government suspends convertibility of paper money to gold, and forbids export, holding, and transactions in gold.
  • 1934 - Heinrich Himmler becomes inspector of Prussian secret state police.
  • 1936 - 40th Boston Marathon won by Ellison Brown of Rhode Island in 2:33:40.8.
  • 1936 - Birth of Pat Roberts; American politician (Representative-Republican-Kansas, 1981-).
  • 1936 - Jews repel an Arab attack in Petach Tikvah, Palestine.
  • 1938 - Birth of Bernard Malivoire in France; cox pair (Olympics-gold-1952).
  • 1938 - Birth of Betty Cuthbert in Australia; 100 metre/200 metre/400 metre dash (Olympics-gold-1956, 1964).
  • 1938 - Birth of Johnny Tillotson in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; singer ("Gidget", "Poetry in Motion").
  • 1939 - New York World's Fair opens.
  • 1940 - RCA demonstrates its new electron microscope in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
  • 1940 - Birth of George Takei in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Sulu - Star Trek, Green Berets).
  • 1940 - Birth of James Gammon in Newman, Illinois, USA; actor (Cool Hand Luke, Nick - Nash Bridges).
  • 1940 - Birth of Jan Cremer; Dutch writer/sculptor (I, John Cremer).
  • 1940 - Birth of Pilar Miro; film director (Wether, Beltenebros).
  • 1941 - 100 German bombers attack Athens, Greece.
  • 1941 - Barend ter Haar, Dutch lawyer, dies in Buchenwald at age 49.
  • 1941 - Birth of Joni Evans in New York City, New York, USA; publisher (Simon and Schuster, Random House).
  • 1941 - Birth of Ryan O'Neal in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Peyton Place, Paper Moon, Love Story).
  • 1942 - German occupiers forbid Dutch access to their beach.
  • 1942 - Heavy German assault on Malta.
  • 1943 - Birth of Edie Sedgwick in Santa Barbara, California, USA; actor (Ciao Manhattan).
  • 1943 - Birth of Ian Watson in the United Kingdom; sci-fi author (Book of Being, Whores of Babylon).
  • 1943 - Birth of Michael Greer in Galesburg, Illinois, USA; actor (Bobby Gentry Show).
  • 1944 - Dutch Communist Party resistance fighter John Postma is sentenced to death.
  • 1944 - NFL legalizes coaching from the bench.
  • 1945 - Birth of Jimmy Winston in London, England; organist (Small Faces - "Itchycoo Park").
  • 1945 - Cleveland Browns' organization formed by Arthur "Mickey" McBride.
  • 1945 - German occupiers flood Beemster and Fencer.
  • 1945 - Soviet troops enter Berlin, Germany.
  • 1945 - US 7th Army and Allied forces capture Nuremberg and Stuttgart in Germany.
  • 1945 - US forces conquer Motobu peninsula on Okinawa.
  • 1946 - First televised baseball broadcast in Chicago, Illinois, Saint Louis Cardinals versus Chicago Cubs.
  • 1946 - 50th Boston Marathon won by Stylianos Kyriakides of Greece in 2:29:27.
  • 1947 - Birth of David Leland in Cambridge, England; actor/director (Nothing But Trouble).
  • 1947 - Christian X, King of Denmark (1912-47), dies at age 76.
  • 1947 - Frederik IX becomes King of Denmark.
  • 1948 - Birth of Craig Frost; keyboardist (Grand Funk Railroad - "Some Kind of Wonderful").
  • 1948 - United Auto Workers' president Walter P Reuther shot and wounded at his home in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
  • 1949 - Birth of Jessica Lange in Cloquet, Minnesota, USA; actress (King Kong, Tootsie).
  • 1949 - Birth of Michal Israel; rocker (Sky with Stars).
  • 1949 - Jockey Bill Shoemaker wins his first race, in Albany, California.
  • 1950 - Baltimore's Memorial Stadium opens - Orioles of International League.
  • 1950 - Birth of Itumeleng J Mosala; South Africa President (Azanian People's Organization).
  • 1951 - Birth of Geraint Wyn Davies in Wales; actor ("Bury Me in Niagara", "High Hopes").
  • 1951 - Birth of Luther Vandross in the Bronx, New York, USA; rock vocalist ("Here and Now", "Never Too Much").
  • 1951 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak Atoll.
  • 1952 - Birth of Tamara Sergeyevna Zakharova; Russian cosmonaut.
  • 1952 - Birth of Toine van Benthem; dentist/playwright/cabaret performer (Purper).
  • 1953 - 57th Boston Marathon won by Keizo Yamada of Japan in 2:18:51.
  • 1954 - Birth of Peter Toohey; cricket player (New South Wales and Australian batsman 1977-80).
  • 1955 - Birth of Donald R Pettit in Silverton, Oregon, USA; PhD/astronaut.
  • 1956 - Jaap Vranken, organist/composer (Stabat mater), dies.
  • 1956 - Lieven Duvosel, Flemish music composer (Levensschets), dies at age 78.
  • 1957 - 61st Boston Marathon won by John J Kelley of Connecticut in 2:20:05.
  • 1957 - Birth of Graeme Fowler; cricket player (England left-handed opener early 1980s).
  • 1957 - Birth of Richenel [Hubertus R Baars] singer/performer (Dance Around The World).
  • 1957 - New York Yankees' Bill Skowron becomes third player to hit a ball out of Fenway Park.
  • 1958 - Birth of Viacheslav Fetisov in Moscow, Russia; NHL defenseman (Team Russia, Detroit Red Wings).
  • 1958 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open.
  • 1958 - Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins 4 games to two for the Stanley Cup.
  • 1958 - Morocco demands departure of Spanish troops.
  • 1959 - 63rd Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:22:42.
  • 1959 - Birth of Clint Howard in Burbank, California, USA; actor (Gentle Ben).
  • 1960 - Birth of Rodney Holman; NFL tight end (Detroit Lions).
  • 1961 - American Harold Graham makes first rocket belt flight.
  • 1961 - Birth of Don "Hitman" Mattingly in Evansville, Indiana, USA; New York Yankees first baseman (Most Valuable Player 1985).
  • 1961 - Birth of Marci Bozarth in Lampasas, Texas, USA; LPGA golfer (1994 Lady Keystone Open-37th).
  • 1962 - Jesse G Vincent, engineer who designed first V-12 engine, dies at age 82.
  • 1963 - All Africa Conferences of Churches opens in Kampala, Uganda.
  • 1963 - Birth of Brett Edward Garsed in Victoria, Australia; heavy metal artist (Nelson).
  • 1964 - 68th Boston Marathon won by Aurele Vandendriessche of Belgium in 2:19:59.
  • 1964 - 86 percent of black students boycott Cleveland, Ohio schools.
  • 1964 - Birth of John Carney; NFL kicker (San Diego Chargers).
  • 1964 - Birth of Paul Nobes; cricket player (prolific opening batsman for Victoria and South Africa).
  • 1965 - Birth of Jim Terrell in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; sprint canoe (Olympics-1996).
  • 1965 - People's Republic China offers North Vietnam military aid.
  • 1965 - Richard Wessell, actor (Carney - Riverboat), dies of heart attack on 52nd birthday.
  • 1967 - Birth of J D Roth in Beverly Hills, California, USA; TV host (Fun House).
  • 1967 - Birth of Lara Jill Miller in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA; actress (Samantha - Gimme a Break).
  • 1967 - Birth of Miroslav Stefanovic; soccer player (FC Volendam).
  • 1967 - Birth of Townsend Saunders in White Sands, New Mexico, USA; freestyle wrestler (Olympics-silver-1992, 1996).
  • 1967 - French author Régis Debray caught in Bolivia.
  • 1967 - New York Mets' Tom Seaver's first victory, beats Chicago Cubs, 6-1.
  • 1967 - US Surveyor 3 lands on Moon.
  • 1967 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk.
  • 1968 - Birth of LeShundra Nathan in Birmingham, Alabama, USA; heptathlete.
  • 1968 - Pierre Elliott Trudeau sworn-in as Canada's Prime Minister.
  • 1968 - South African Airways Boeing 707 crashes at Windhoek, 122 killed.
  • 1968 - Death of Rudolf Dirks in New York City, New York, USA; cartoonist (New York Journal, "Katzenjammer Kids", "The Captain and the Kids").
  • 1969 - 23rd Tony Awards: Great White Hope and 1776 win.
  • 1969 - Birth of John van Halst; soccer player (FC Twente).
  • 1969 - Birth of Takayuki Kobori; hockey defenseman (Team Japan 1998).
  • 1969 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Lady Carling Golf Open.
  • 1970 - 74th Boston Marathon won by Ron Hill of Great Britain in 2:10:30 (new US marathon record).
  • 1970 - Birth of Ben Weir in Rock Island, Illinois, USA; Canadian Tour golfer (1993 Bogey Hills-second).
  • 1970 - Birth of Shemar Moore in Oakland, California, USA; actor (Malcolm - The Young and the Restless).
  • 1970 - Bruno Kreisky becomes first socialist chancellor of Austria.
  • 1971 - Birth of Chris Penn, NFL wide receiver (Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears).
  • 1971 - Birth of Grant Smith; Australian field hockey forward (Olympics-1996).
  • 1971 - Birth of John Senden in Brisbane, Queensland; Australasia golfer.
  • 1971 - Birth of Terry Smith; NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts).
  • 1971 - Birth of Yonel Jourdain; NFL running back/kick returner (Buffalo Bills).
  • 1971 - Cecil Parker, actor (Court Jester, Operation Snafu), dies at age 73.
  • 1971 - US Supreme Court upholds use of bussing to achieve racial desegregation.
  • 1972 - Apollo 16 with John Young and Charles Duke lands on Moon with Boeing Lunar Rover #2.
  • 1972 - Kallicharran scores his second Test century in his second Test Cricket.
  • 1973 - Birth of Itula Mili; tight end (Seattle Seahawks).
  • 1973 - Birth of Lamond Murray; NBA forward (Los Angeles Clippers).
  • 1973 - Birth of Todd Hollandsworth in Dayton, Ohio, USA; outfielder (Los Angeles Dodgers).
  • 1973 - Canadian ANIK A2 becomes first commercial satellite in orbit.
  • 1973 - Robert Armstrong, actor (Fall Guy, Exposed), dies at age 82.
  • 1974 - Birth of Ben[jamin] Lincoln Holbrook in Hartland, Wisconsin, USA; rower (Olympics-1996).
  • 1974 - Birth of Kevin Sullivan in Brantford, Ontario, Canada; 1.5k runner (Olympics-1996).
  • 1974 - Birth of Paul Bradford; cornerback (San Diego Chargers).
  • 1974 - Mohammed Ayub Khan, premier/President (Pakistan), dies.
  • 1975 - 29th Tony Awards: Equus and The Wiz win.
  • 1975 - 4th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Sandra Palmer.
  • 1975 - Birth of Joey [Joseph Mignogna Junior] Lawrence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; actor (Brotherly Love, Joey - Gimme a Break, Blossom).
  • 1976 - Birth of Lenka Nemeckova Brno in Czechoslovakia; tennis star (1993 Futures-Maribor-SLO).
  • 1977 - Birth of Lisa Ervin; figure skater (US Nationals-4th-1992).
  • 1977 - Bryan Foy, director/writer, dies at age 80.
  • 1977 - Len Johnson, cricket player (one Test for Australia, 3-66 and 3-8), dies.
  • 1977 - Woody Allen's film Annie Hall premieres.
  • 1979 - Peter Donald, host (Masquerade Party), dies at age 60.
  • 1980 - The Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing to emigrate to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana. 125,000 Cubans flee by the end of the exodus in October, with 27 deaths.
  • 1980 - Donna White wins LPGA Florida "Lady Citrus" Golf Tournament.
  • 1980 - Death of Helmut Käutner in Castellina, Italy (born in Düsseldorf, Germany); German/American film director.
  • 1981 - 85th Boston Marathon won by Toshihiko Seko of Japan in 2:09:26.
  • 1981 - Final performance of TV show Soap airs.
  • 1981 - 10th Boston Women's Marathon won by Allison Roe of New Zealand in 2:26:46.
  • 1982 - Archibald MacLeish, American lawyer/writer (Conquistador), dies at age 89.
  • 1982 - Mimi Boesnach, actress (Wedding of Kloris and Roses), dies at age 82.
  • 1982 - Timex Computer announces the Timex/Sinclair 1000, the first personal computer to retail for under $100. The unit is an improved Sinclair ZX81 with 2 kB RAM.
  • 1982 - With a 4-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the Atlanta Braves record their 12th consecutive victory to establish a major-league record for the most victories from the beginning of the season.
  • 1982 - Andrew Sandham, cricket player (325 England 1930, 879 runs in 14 Tests), dies.
  • 1983 - Soyuz T-8 launched; mission aborted when capsule fails to dock.
  • 1984 - Death of Mabel Mercer at age 84; English/US singer ("Fly Me to the Moon").
  • 1984 - Russian offensive in Panshirvallei, Afghanistan.
  • 1985 - Carlos Lopes runs world record marathon (2:07:12).
  • 1985 - Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Mark Williams.
  • 1985 - Karyn Marshall of New York City, New York lifts 303 pounds in a clean-and-jerk lift.
  • 1986 - Michael Jordan sets NBA playoff record with 63 points in a game.
  • 1986 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
  • 1987 - 16th Boston Women's Marathon won by Rosa Mota of Portugal in 2:25:21.
  • 1987 - 91st Boston Marathon won by Toshihiko Seko of Japan in 2:11:50.
  • 1987 - Professional cyclist and reigning Tour de France winner Greg LeMond is accidentally shot while turkey hunting.
  • 1987 - In Sri Lanka, Tamil rebels shoot 122 Singalezen dead.
  • 1987 - US deports Karl Linnas, charged with German war crimes, to USSR.
  • 1988 - Baltimore Orioles set worst record to start a season 0-14 (will go 0-21).
  • 1988 - New Jersey Devils' first playoff hat trick-Eric Broten.
  • 1988 - New York Yankees homerun 9,999 (Dave Winfield), 10,000 (Claudell Washington), and 10,001 (Jack Clark).
  • 1988 - US accuses Renamo of killing 100,000 Mozambiquians.
  • 1989 - NATO debates modernising short range missiles; although the U.S. and UK are in favour, West German chancellor Helmut Kohl obtains a concession deferring a decision.
  • 1990 - Eight and 2/3 inning perfect game pitched by Brian Holman of the Oakland Athletics is spoiled by a home run hit by Ken Philips.
  • 1990 - Horst Sinderman, RDA first minister (1973-76), dies.
  • 1990 - Pete Rose pleads guilty to hiding $300,000 in income.
  • 1990 - STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery.
  • 1991 - First non-stop flight Schiphol-Flamingo airport Bonaire.
  • 1991 - Don[ald] Siegel, US director (Coogan's Bluff / Dirty Harry movies), dies at age 78.
  • 1991 - Jumjaagiyn Tsedenbal, Mongolian politician, dies.
  • 1991 - Mark Lenzi is first diver to score 100 points on a dive (101.85).
  • 1991 - Raghib "Rocket" Ismael signs with Toronto Argonauts for $26.2 million.
  • 1991 - Sean O'Faolain [J Whelan], Irish writer (Nest of Simple), dies at age 91.
  • 1991 - Steve Marriott, English guitarist (Small Faces), dies in a fire at age 44 (born 1947).
  • 1991 - Yumzhagin Tsendenbal, Prime Minister of Mongolia (1952-74), dies.
  • 1992 - 100th episode of Murphy Brown TV show airs in USA.
  • 1992 - 21st Boston Women's Marathon won by Olga Markova of Russia in 2:23:43.
  • 1992 - 96th Boston Marathon won by Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya in 2:08:14.
  • 1992 - The Disney Channel premieres the animated TV series Goof Troop.
  • 1992 - The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, held at Wembley Stadium in London, England, is televised live to over one billion people and raises millions of dollars for AIDS research.
  • 1992 - Seville's six-month Universal Exhibition opens, called Seville Expo 1992, in the city of Seville, Spain.
  • 1992 - Madonna signs $60-million deal with Time Warner.
  • 1993 - Cantinflas [Mario Moreno], Mexican actor (Pepe), dies at age 81.
  • 1993 - Uranus passes Neptune (this occurs once every 171 years).
  • 1994 - American Telephone & Telegraph changes its company name to AT&T Corporation.
  • 1994 - Danny Harold Rolling sentenced to death in Florida for killing five.
  • 1994 - Jean Carmet, French actor (Merci la Vie, Le Sucre), dies at age 72.
  • 1994 - Serbian army bombs hospital in Goradze, Bosnia, 47 killed.
  • 1994 - Sohail and Inzamam make world record ODI partnership of 263.
  • 1994 - Space shuttle STS-59 (Endeavour 6), lands.
  • 1994 - Paul Touvier is found guilty of ordering the execution of seven Jews when he served in the Vichy France Milice.
  • 1995 - Milovan Djilas, Yugoslavian politician (1945-54), dies.
  • 1995 - R E S Wyatt, cricket player (England captain 16 times), dies.
  • 1995 - Sunil Jayasinghe, Sri Lankan wicketkeeper (1979 World Cup), death by suicide.
  • 1996 - Chicago Bulls win record 72 games in a season.
  • 1996 - Christopher Robin Milne, English bookseller/son of writer A A Milne (Winnie the Pooh), dies at age 75 (born 1920).
  • 1997 - First baseball game in Hawaii, Saint Louis Cardinals beat San Diego Padres in doubleheader.
  • 1997 - 27th Easter Seal Telethon raises $47,392,682.
  • 1997 - 58th PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Hale Irwin.
  • 1997 - Chicago Cubs beat New York Mets ending National League worst opening, lost 14 straight games.
  • 1997 - Karrie Webb wins LPGA Susan G Komen International.
  • 1997 - Mark McGwire is fourth to homerun on Detroit Tigers' left field roof (others are Frank Howard, Harmon Killibrew, and Cecil Fielder).
  • 1997 - Nick Price wins golf MCI Classic.
  • 1997 - PGA Seniors Championship; Hale Irwin wins.
  • 1997 - Death of Henry Mucci, American Colonel of the 98th Ranger Battalion (born 1909).
  • 1998 - At a public showing of Windows 98, the operating system crashes while Bill Gates is demonstrating its features.
  • 1999 - Two Littleton, Colorado teenagers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, open fire on their Columbine High School teachers and classmates, killing 12 students and one teacher, and then themselves.
  • 1999 - Death of Richard Rood, American professional wrestler (born 1958).
  • 2001 - Gibraltar's postal service prints a 2-pound souvenir sheet for Queen Elizabeth II's 75th birthday 10 hours and 24 minutes after final design approval, and gaining honor of recognition by Guiness World Records for the fastest printing of a postage stamp.
  • 2001 - Italian conductor and composer Giuseppe Sinopoli collapses and dies of a heart attack at age 54 in Berlin, Germany while conducting Verdi's Aida.
  • 2001 - Death of Bert Sutcliffe, New Zealand cricket player (born 1923).
  • 2003 - Death of Bernard Katz, German-born biophysicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (born 1911).
  • 2003 - Death of Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle rider, after crashing into a Suzuka wall on April 6 (born 1976).
  • 2004 - In Iraq, 12 mortars are fired on Abu Ghraib Prison by insurgents; 22 detainees are killed and 92 wounded.
  • 2005 - A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hits Fukuoka and Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, injuring 56.
  • 2005 - Death of Zygfryd Blaut, Polish football player (born 1943).
  • 2006 - Iran announces a uranium enrichment deal with Russia, involving a joint uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil; nine days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to a de-facto termination of the deal.
  • 2008 - In London, England, the British Academy Television Awards ceremony is held. Some winners:
    • Best actor: Andrew Garfield for Boy A,
    • Best actress: Eileen Atkins for Cranford,
    • Best entertainment performance: Harry Hill for Harry Hill's TV Burp,
    • Best comedy performance: James Corden for Gavin and Stacey,
    • Best single drama: The Mark Of Cain,
    • Best drama serial: Britz,
    • Best entertainment programme: Harry Hill's TV Burp,
    • Best situation comedy: Peep Show,
    • Best feature: Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

  • 2009 - Ethiopia's Deriba Merga wins the Boston Marathon (2:08:42), while Kenya's Salina Kosgei wins the women's race (2:32:16).
  • 2009 - Oracle announces it will acquire Sun Microsystems for more than US$7 billion.
  • 2010 - The Deepwater Horizon oil platform explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers.
  • 2011 - Spot gold reaches a record high of US$1507.10 in New York, closing at record US$1503 an ounce.
  • 2017 - Death of Roberto Ferreiro, Argentine football player and manager (born 1935).
  • 2017 - Death of Germaine Mason, Jamaican-British Olympic high jumper (born 1983).
  • 2020 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White Alliance leader Benny Gantz agree on a deal to form a unity government, thus ending more than a year of political deadlock. As part of the deal, Netanyahu will hold onto his position for 18 more months, with Gantz replacing him afterwards.
  • 2020 - In Nova Scotia, Canada, Gabriel Wortman, disguised as a police officer and driving a car modified to look like a police car, shoots and kills 18 people, before police shoot and kill him.
  • 2020 - Price of crude oil drops from $18 to -$38 per barrel, due to lack of storage space brought on by the pandemic.
  • 2020 - The Industrial Bank of Korea agrees to pay US$86 million and will enter a two-year deferred prosecution agreement to settle lawsuits with the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of New York over a 2011 scheme to help transfer US$1 billion to Iran.
  • 2021 - Idriss Déby, President of Chad, is killed in clashes with rebel forces after 30 years in office. The constitution is suspended and a Transitional Military Council is established to govern the country for 18 months.
  • 2021 - Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is found guilty of the murder of George Floyd.
  • 2022 - Death of Robert Morse at age 90; actor (Mad Men TV show).

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