This Day in History
April 21

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 21?

On April 21 in ...

  • 953 - Otto I the Great gives Utrecht fishing rights.
  • 1073 - Alexander II [Anselmo da Baggio] Pope (1061-73), dies.
  • 1109 - Anselmus philosopher/archbishop of Canterbury, dies.
  • 1142 - Pierre Abélard French philosopher (Sic et Non, Héloïse), dies at age 62.
  • 1420 - Treaty of Saint Maartens Dike.
  • 1453 - Turkish fleet sinks ships Golden Receiver in Constantinople.
  • 1477 - Maximilian of Habsburg marries Maria of Bourgondië at proxy.
  • 1488 - Birth of Ulrich von Hutten near Fulda; German poet/humanist/patriot.
  • 1509 - Henry VII, first Tudor king of England (1485-1509), dies at age 52 of tuberculosis in the palace at Richmond, Surrey.
  • 1521 - Battle at Villalar: Emperor Charles I beats Communards.
  • 1526 - Battle at Panipat Mogol Emperor Babur beats sultan Ibrahim Lodi.
  • 1546 - Birth of Arcangelo Crivelli composer.
  • 1552 - Peter Apianus [Bennewitz/Bienewitz] German astronomer, dies at age 50.
  • 1572 - France and England sign anti-Spanish military covenant.
  • 1574 - Cosimo de Medici Italian duke of Toscane, dies at about age 54.
  • 1619 - Birth of John A van Riebeeck colonial director/founder (Cape Colony).
  • 1649 - Maryland Toleration Act passed, allowing all freedom of worship.
  • 1652 - Pietro Della Valle composer, dies at age 66.
  • 1654 - England and Sweden sign trade agreement.
  • 1696 - Andres de Sola composer, dies at age 61.
  • 1699 - Jean Racine French playwright (Phèdre), dies at age 59.
  • 1713 - Birth of Louis Duke de Noailles marshal of France.
  • 1729 - Birth of Catharina II the Great, writer/emperess of Russia (1762-96).
  • 1730 - Jan Palfijn Flemish physician/inventor (forceps), dies at age 79.
  • 1736 - Frans Eugenius duke/prince of Savoye, dies at age 72.
  • 1739 - Spain and Naples-Austria sign peace accord.
  • 1774 - Birth of Jean-Baptiste Biot French physicist/astronomer (balloonist).
  • 1775 - Birth of Alexander Anderson US, engraver/illustrator (Shakespeare).
  • 1782 - Birth of Friedrich W A Fröbel; German educator (founded kindergarten).
  • 1785 - Russian tsarina Catharina II ends noble privileges.
  • 1789 - John Adams is sworn in as first US Vice President (9 days before Washington).
  • 1794 - New York City formally declares coast of Ellis Island publically owned, so they can build forts to protect New York City from British.
  • 1795 - Birth of Vincenzo Pallotti; Italian saint.
  • 1803 - Birth of Levin Minn Powell; US Commander (Union Navy) (dies 1885).
  • 1809 - Birth of Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter; Secretary of State (Confederate States of America).
  • 1816 - Birth of Charlotte Brontë in Tornton, Yorkshire, England; novelist (Jane Eyre).
  • 1828 - Birth of Hippolyte Taine; French philosopher/historian (Voyage in Italy).
  • 1828 - Noah Webster publishes first American dictionary.
  • 1834 - Birth of William Rufus Terrill; US Brigadier General (Union volunteers) (dies 1862).
  • 1836 - Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas wins independence from México.
  • 1837 - Birth of Fredrik Bajer in Denmark; politican/feminist/pacifist (Nobel Prize 1908).
  • 1838 - Birth of John Muir; US naturalist (discovered glaciers in High Sierras).
  • 1838 - Birth of Nat Thompson; cricket player (first batsman dismissed in a Test match).
  • 1840 - Birth of Franz Xaver Haberl; German priest/musicologist (Magister choralis).
  • 1849 - Birth of Oskar Hertwig; German embryologist, discovered fertilization.
  • 1856 - First railroad bridge across Mississippi River, from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa.
  • 1863 - Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í Feast of Ridván (Jalâl 13, 20).
  • 1864 - Birth of Max Weber; German sociologist/economist/historian (Ancient Judaism).
  • 1878 - Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Inscrutabili.
  • 1878 - The ship Azor leaves Charleston, South Carolina, with 206 blacks for Liberia.
  • 1881 - Birth of Jules-Marie Canneel; Flemish painter/caricaturist (Rocks of Oran).
  • 1886 - Birth of Charlie Naughton in Glasgow, Scotland; actor (Frozen Limits).
  • 1896 - Birth of Attila Hörbiger; Austrian actor (Die Grosse Liebe, Die Julika).
  • 1896 - Birth of Henry M de Montherlant; French stage author (La Reine Morte).
  • 1898 - Birth of Steve Owen; NFL tackle, coach (New York Giants).
  • 1899 - Birth of Randall Thompson in New York City, New York, USA; composer (Trip to Nahant).
  • 1902 - Birth of Bernard J H "Ben" Stroman; writer (Jomtof and Blue Beard).
  • 1903 - Birth of Hans Hedtoft; premier Denmark (1947-55).
  • 1904 - Birth of Gijsbert van Hall; banker/mayor of Amsterdam (1957-67).
  • 1904 - Birth of Jean Hélion; artist/author (They Shall Not Have Me).
  • 1905 - Birth of Edmund G "Pat" Brown; American politician (Governor-Democrat-California).
  • 1907 - Birth of Beatrice Kay in New York City, New York, USA; singer/actress (Sister Sue - Calvin and the Colonel).
  • 1908 - Birth of Louis Hostin in France; light heavyweight boxer (Olympics-gold-1932, 1936).
  • 1909 - Birth of Rollo May; US psychologist (Love and Will).
  • 1910 - Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens], author (Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn), dies in Redding, Connecticut, USA at age 74.
  • 1911 - Birth of Leonard Warren in New York City, New York, USA; baritone (Metropolitan Opera 1939-60), died on stage.
  • 1913 - Birth of Choh Hao Li; biochemist professor (isolated growth hormones).
  • 1913 - Birth of Norman Parkinson in England; fashion photographer (Harper's Bazaar).
  • 1913 - German passenger ship Imperator runs aground.
  • 1914 - US marines occupy Vera Cruz, México (they stay six months).
  • 1915 - Birth of Anthony Quinn in Chihuahua, México; actor (Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia).
  • 1915 - Birth of W Groebli AKA Frick; Swiss clown (Frick and Frack).
  • 1916 - Birth of Sidney Clute in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Lou Grant, Cagney and Lacey).
  • 1917 - Birth of Emanuel Vardi in Jerusalem; violist (San Diego Symphony 1978-82).
  • 1917 - British Amiralty orders the release of Leon Trotsky from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to continue on his way to Russia.
  • 1918 - Manfred von Richtofen, the "Red Baron", is shot down at age 25.
  • 1919 - Birth of Don Cornell in New York City, New York, USA; singer (sold over 50 million records, "It Isn't Fair", "I'm Yours", "I'll Walk Alone", "Hold My Hand").
  • 1919 - Birth of Franklin Edgar Essed AKA Frank Essed in Parimaribo, Suriname; Suriname agricultural engineer (Operation Grasshopper).
  • 1919 - Birth of John Goddard; cricket player, West Indian all-rounder (1948-57).
  • 1920 - Birth of Bruno Maderna in Venice, Italy; conductor/composer (Hyperion).
  • 1920 - Birth of Christopher Dark in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Suddenly, Tenderfoot).
  • 1921 - Birth of Jack Fletcher in Forrest Hills, New York, USA; actor (Grady, Bob Crane Show).
  • 1921 - Ottawa Senators beat Vancouver Millionaires three games to two for hockey's Stanley Cup.
  • 1922 - Birth of Allan Watkins; cricket player, England batsman late 40s early 50s).
  • 1923 - Birth of Andrea Domburg; Dutch actress (Theo d'Or Prize, Keetje Tippel).
  • 1924 - Birth of Daniel Melnick in New York City, New York, USA; producer (Get Smart).
  • 1924 - Birth of Ira Louvin in Rainesville, Alabama; USA; gospel and bluegrass singer (The Louvin Brothers, "Satan Is Real", "Make Him a Soldier", "When I Stop Dreaming", "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby").
  • 1924 - Eleanora Duse, Italian actress (La Gioconda, La Locandiera), dies at age 64.
  • 1925 - Chuvash Autonomous Region in RSFSR becomes Chuvash ASSR.
  • 1926 - Birth of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; Queen of England (1952-2022).
  • 1927 - Birth of Robert Brustein in New York City, New York, USA; dean (Yale School of Drama).
  • 1930 - Birth of Don Tyson; founder, Tyson Foods.
  • 1930 - Birth of Margaret Rose in London, England; Princess of York.
  • 1930 - Birth of Silvana Mangano in Rome, Italy; actress (Death in Venice, Barabbas).
  • 1930 - Christine [Elizabeth C] Poolman, Dutch actress (Mother), dies at age 79.
  • 1930 - Fire (set as part of an escape attempt) at Ohio State Penitentiary kills 320.
  • 1930 - Robert S Bridges, poet laureate (Testament of beauty), dies at age 85.
  • 1932 - Birth of Angela Mortimer; English tennis player (Wimbledon).
  • 1932 - Birth of Elaine May in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; comedienne/writer/actress (New Leaf).
  • 1933 - Birth of Easley Blackwood in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; composer (Un Voyage á Cythere).
  • 1934 - Birth of Martin Horton; cricket player, England off-spin all rounder, two Tests 1959).
  • 1934 - Moe Berg, Washington Senators' catcher, plays American League record 117th consecutive errorless game.
  • 1935 - Birth of Charles Grodin in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; actor (Beethoven, Woman in Red, Lonely Guy, Heartbreak Kid, 60 Minutes II, Charles Grodin Show, Fresno).
  • 1935 - Birth of Robin Dixon in England; two-man bobsled (Olympics-gold-1960).
  • 1935 - King Boris of Bulgaria forbids all political parties.
  • 1936 - Birth of Bob Cleary; American ice hockey player (Olympics-gold-1960).
  • 1937 - Birth of Charles Lee Herron in Kentucky, USA; FBI most wanted fugitive (January 1, 1986).
  • 1938 - Protestant Douglas Hyde is chosen as President of Ireland.
  • 1938 - Muhammad Iqbal, British East Indies lawyer/Pakistan national hero, dies at age 65.
  • 1939 - Birth of Ernie Maresca; singer/songwriter ("Runaround Sue", "Wanderer").
  • 1940 - Birth of Souleymane Cisse; film director (Waati, Yeelen, Finye, Baara).
  • 1940 - Netherlands beats Belgium 4-2 in soccer.
  • 1942 - Birth of Bobby McClure; American gospel singer ("Don't Mess Up a Good Thing").
  • 1944 - NFL Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers merge (dissolves on December 3).
  • 1945 - Allied troops occupy German nuclear laboratory.
  • 1945 - John Poston, British Major/Montgomery's ADC, dies in battle at age 25.
  • 1945 - Russian army arrives at outskirts of Berlin.
  • 1945 - US 7th Army occupies Neurenberg, Germany.
  • 1946 - Birth of S Venkataraghavan; cricket player (Indian off-spinner, Test umpire, ICC referee).
  • 1946 - John M Keynes, English economist (How to pay for the war?), dies at age 62.
  • 1946 - Robert Graham, cricket player (3 wickets for South Africa in two Tests 1898-99), dies.
  • 1947 - Birth of Alan Warner; rocker (Foundations).
  • 1947 - Birth of Iggy Pop AKA James Newell Osterberg in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; new wave performer (Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Zombie Birdhouse).
  • 1947 - Birth of John Weider; bassist (Family - "Family Entertainment").
  • 1948 - Second NBA Championship: Baltimore Bullets beat Philadelphia Warriors, 4 games to 2.
  • 1948 - Birth of Claire Denis in Paris, France; actress (Boom Boom, Chocolat).
  • 1948 - Birth of Gary A Condit; American politician (Representative-Democrat-California).
  • 1948 - Birth of Lord Egremont; English large landowner/multi-millionaire.
  • 1948 - Birth of Paul Davis in Meridian, Michigan, USA; country/rock vocalist ("I Go Crazy").
  • 1949 - Birth of Patti LuPone in Northport, New York, USA; stage/screen actress/singer (Evita, Life Goes On, Oz).
  • 1949 - The George Foster Peabody Award for Broadcasting is presented to You Bet Your Life star Groucho Marx.
  • 1951 - 5th NBA Championship: Rochester Royals beat New York Knicks, 4 games to 3.
  • 1951 - Birth of Aleksandr Ivanovich Laveykin; Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-2).
  • 1951 - Birth of Paul Carrack in Sheffield, England; rock vocalist (Mike and the Mechanics - "All I Need Is A Miracle", Squeeze/Ace - "How Long").
  • 1951 - Birth of Tony Danza in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Tony Banta - Taxi, Tony Micelli - Who's The Boss?, Tony Danza Show).
  • 1951 - NHL Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Montreal Canadiens, 4 games to 1.
  • 1952 - BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) begins first passenger service with jets (London-Rome route).
  • 1952 - Leslie Banks, actor (Henry V, 21 Days, Eye Witness), dies at age 61.
  • 1952 - [Richard] Stafford Cripps, English minister of plane-manufacturing, dies at age 62.
  • 1953 - Birth of Edward Ray Fiori in Lynwood, California, USA; PGA golfer (1979 Southern Open).
  • 1954 - Birth of Dale Eggeling in Statesboro, Georgia, USA; LPGA golfer (1995 Oldsmobile Classic).
  • 1954 - Gregori Malenkov becomes premier of USSR.
  • 1954 - US Air Force flies French battalion to Vietnam.
  • 1954 - In the Foley Square U.S. Courthouse in New York, a congressional subcommittee begins a three-day televised investigation of the causes of juvenile delinquency. The comic-book industry is vilified, leading to laws in several states restricting comic sales, and industry self-censorship.
  • 1955 - Brooklyn Dodgers win record 10th straight game since beginning of a season.
  • 1955 - Minas Gerais Argentina tunnel caves in; 30 die.
  • 1956 - Birth of Rick DeMont; American 400 metre swimmer, drug disqualification (1972 Olympics).
  • 1956 - Ten-year-old Leonard Ross wins $100,000 on TV quiz program The Big Surprise.
  • 1956 - Elvis Presley's first hit record, "Heartbreak Hotel", becomes #1.
  • 1957 - Birth of Jesse Orosco in Santa Barbara, California, USA; baseball relief pitcher (New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers).
  • 1957 - Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open.
  • 1957 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Fidei Donum.
  • 1958 - Birth of Andie [Rosalie Anderson] MacDowell in Gaffney, South Carolina, USA; actress (Groundhog Day, Multiplicity, Greystoke).
  • 1959 - Alf Dean (using a rod and reel) hooks a 2,664 pound, 16 foot 10 inch great white shark (largest fish ever caught on a rod).
  • 1959 - Birth of Robert Smith in Sussex, England; rock guitarist/vocalist (Cure - "Just Like Heaven").
  • 1960 - Birth of Julius Korir in Kenya; 3000m steeplechaser (Olympics-gold-1984).
  • 1960 - Brasilia becomes the capital of Brazil.
  • 1961 - Dirk U Stikker chosen as Secretary-General of NATO.
  • 1961 - Death of James Melton at age 56 of pneumonia; American operatic tenor (The Ziegfield Follies of the Air, The Intimate Review, Bell Telephone Hour, Harvest of Stars, The Texaco Star Theatre).
  • 1962 - Birth of Sergei Viktorovich Zalyotin; Russian Major/cosmonaut.
  • 1962 - (to October 12) The Century 21 Exposition is held in Seattle, Washington, USA.
  • 1962 - Frederick Handley Page, designer of first big airplane (40 seats), dies.
  • 1963 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Sunshine Women's Golf Open.
  • 1963 - Birth of John Cameron Mitchell in El Paso, Texas, USA; actor (Misplaced, Band of the Hand).
  • 1963 - Birth of Ken Caminiti in Hanford, California, USA; infielder (San Diego Padres).
  • 1963 - Dr Michael Ellis De Bakey performs first successful heart implant.
  • 1964 - Birth of Louise Mullard in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales; golfer (1990 T3 Coca Cola Classic).
  • 1964 - Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs combine for nine homeruns, Pirates win 8-5.
  • 1965 - Birth of Ed Belfour in Carman, Manitoba, Canada; NHL goalie (Chicago Blackhawks).
  • 1965 - Birth of Gary Grant; NBA guard (New York Knicks).
  • 1965 - Edward V Appleton, English physicist (Nobel Prize 1947), dies at age 72.
  • 1965 - New York World's Fair re-opens for second and final season.
  • 1966 - Birth of Judy Diduck; ice hockey defenseman (Canada, Olympics-1998).
  • 1966 - Emperor Haile Selassie (Ethiopia) visits Kingston, Jamaica.
  • 1967 - EO, Evangelical Broadcasting, begins in Netherlands.
  • 1967 - Los Angeles Dodgers first rain-out in Los Angeles (after 737 consecutive games).
  • 1967 - Military coup in Greece, Konstantinos Kollias becomes premier.
  • 1968 - 22nd Tony Awards: Rosencranz and Guilderstern and Hallelujah Baby! win.
  • 1968 - Birth of Peter van Foxes; soccer player (Ajax).
  • 1968 - Carol Mann wins LPGA Lady Carling Golf Open.
  • 1968 - Toby Halicki, car-crash film producer, killed shooting stunt at age 48.
  • 1969 - Record 1,152 starters compete in Boston Marathon.
  • 1969 - 73rd Boston Marathon won by Yoshiaki Unetani of Japan in 2:13:49.
  • 1969 - Birth of Conrad Clarks; NFL center (Indianapolis Colts).
  • 1969 - Birth of Dwight Hollier; NFL linebacker (Miami Dolphins).
  • 1970 - Birth of Israel Stanley; NFL/WLAF defensive end (New Orleans Saints, Rhein Fire).
  • 1970 - Birth of Stewart Malgunas in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada; NHL defenseman (Washington Capitals).
  • 1970 - Sportscaster Curt Gowdy receives the George Foster Peabody Award for achievement in radio and television, the first sports broadcaster to receive the honor.
  • 1971 - Birth of Jennifer Reed; Miss Michigan-USA (1997).
  • 1971 - Birth of Samantha Druce; youngest woman to swim the English Channel.
  • 1971 - Birth of Tom Cavallo; NFL/WLAF linebacker (Frankfurt Galaxy, San Francisco 49ers).
  • 1971 - Birth of Tony Mcgee; NFL tight end (Cincinnati Bengals).
  • 1971 - Edmund Lowe, actor (Front Page Detective), dies at age 81.
  • 1971 - François "Doc" Duvalier, dictator of Haiti, dies at age 64.
  • 1971 - Original Codex Reguis (with Edda-liederen) returns to Iceland.
  • 1972 - Birth of David Williams in Bedford, Pennsylvania, USA; outfielder (San Francisco Giants).
  • 1972 - Birth of Lori Flick in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miss Massachusetts-America (1997).
  • 1972 - Birth of Tia Jackson; WNBA forward (Phoenix Mercury).
  • 1972 - Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 4 (Copernicus) launched.
  • 1973 - Ursula Jeans [McMinn], actress (Cavalcade, Over the Moon), dies at age 66.
  • 1974 - 28th Tony Awards: River Niger and Raisin win.
  • 1974 - Third Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Jo Ann Prentice.
  • 1974 - Birth of Brice Hunter; wide receiver (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
  • 1975 - 4th Boston Women's Marathon won by Liane Winter of Federal Republic of Germany in 2:42:24.
  • 1975 - 79th Boston Marathon won by Bill Rodgers of Massachusetts in 2:09:55.
  • 1975 - Birth of Angela Michelle Hughes in Anderson, South Carolina; Miss South Carolina-America (1997).
  • 1975 - Birth of Danyon Joseph Loader in Dunedin, New Zealand; 200 metre/400 metre swimmer (Olympics-2 gold-1996).
  • 1975 - Last South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu resigns after ten years.
  • 1976 - International Nickel changes its company name to Inco.
  • 1976 - Swine Flu vaccine, for non-epidemic, enters testing.
  • 1976 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk.
  • 1977 - Billy Martin pulls New York Yankees line-up out of a hat, beats Toronto Blue Jays 8-6.
  • 1977 - Birth of Karen Ann Peterson; Miss Aruba-Universe (1997).
  • 1977 - Charles Strouse and Martin Charnins' musical Annie opens at Alvin Theater in New York City for 2377 performances. The musical is based on the comic strip Little Orphan Annie.
  • 1977 - In the Solomon Islands, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurs. Extensive damage on Guadacanal.
  • 1977 - Gummo [Milton] Marx, US comic (Marx Brothers), dies at age 84.
  • 1977 - Zia ur-Rahman appointed President of Bangladesh.
  • 1978 - Birth of Aimee Delatte; Miss Arkansas Teen-USA (1996).
  • 1978 - Birth of Avi Phillips in Ontario, Canada; actor (Maniac Mansion).
  • 1978 - Birth of Melissa Coish; Miss New Hampshire Teen-USA (1996).
  • 1978 - Death of Sandy Denny at age 37 of a brain hemorrhage after falling down stairs in London, England; British folk-rock singer (Strawbs, Fairport Convention, Fotheringay).
  • 1978 - Birth of Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer (Nightwish).
  • 1980 - 84th Boston Marathon won by Bill Rodgers of Massachusetts in 2:12:11.
  • 1980 - 9th Boston Women's Marathon won by Jacqueline Gareau of Canada in 2:34:28; Rosie Ruiz disqualified as women's champion; she hadn't run entire course.
  • 1980 - Death of Sohrab Sepehri, Persian poet and painter (born 1928).
  • 1980 - Birth of Vincent Lecavalier; Canadian hockey player.
  • 1981 - Harry Lee, cricket player (scored 18 and one in only Test for England), dies.
  • 1981 - US furnishes US$1 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia.
  • 1982 - Joe Sawyer, actor (Biff O'Hara - Adventures of Rin Tin Tin), dies at age 80.
  • 1982 - Atlanta Braves win their 13th straight game.
  • 1982 - Dutch Queen Beatrice addresses US Congress.
  • 1982 - CBS airs the final episode of TV show WKRP in Cincinnati.
  • 1983 - Scandal-plagued Jackie Presser is elected president of the Teamsters.
  • 1983 - Walter Slezak, actor (Bedtime For Bonzo), commits suicide in New York at age 80.
  • 1983 - In the United Kingdom, the Royal Mint debuts the 1-pound coin (70 percent copper) for circulation, the first since 1920.
  • 1984 - Centers for Disease Control says virus discovered in France causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
  • 1984 - Franz Weber of Austria skis downhill at a record 209.8 km/h.
  • 1984 - Montreal Expos' David Palmer no-hits Saint Louis Cardinals, 4-0 in a perfect five-inning game.
  • 1984 - Birth of Ashley Peldon in Staten Island, New York; actress (Marah Lewis - Guilding Light, Deceived).
  • 1985 - Bomb attack in NATO/AEG-Telefunken building in Brussels, Belgium.
  • 1985 - Ingrid Kristiansen wins the London Marathon in a record 2:21:06.
  • 1985 - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA J&B Scotch Pro-Am Golf Tournament.
  • 1985 - Rudi Gernreich, US designer (unisex look, invisible underwear, miniskirt), dies at age 62.
  • 1985 - Tancredo Neves, President-elect of Brazil, dies at age 75 (born 1910).
  • 1985 - Death of Foster Hewitt at age 82; hockey broadcaster (thousands of NHL, world, and Olympic hockey matches).
  • 1986 - 15th Boston Women's Marathon won by I Kristiansen of Norway in 2:24:55.
  • 1986 - 90th Boston Marathon won by Rob de Castella of Australia in 2:07:51.
  • 1986 - Bob Hering sets Formula One power boat record (165.338 mph, Arizona).
  • 1986 - Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's secret vault on live TV show The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault and finds nothing inside.
  • 1987 - Dow Jones Industrial Average soars 664.7; second biggest one-day gain in history.
  • 1987 - Edith S Green, American politician (Representative-Democrat-Oregon), dies at age 77.
  • 1987 - Milwaukee Brewers lose, ending American League season-opening winning streak at 13 games.
  • 1987 - Richard Hadlee makes highest Test Cricket score of 151 (versus Sri Lanka).
  • 1987 - Tamil bomb attack in bus station in Colombo, Sri Lanka; 115 killed.
  • 1988 - First four-day games in County Cricket Championship commence.
  • 1989 - James Kirkwood, actor/writer (Devil's Holiday), dies at age 64.
  • 1989 - Thousands of students from Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, and Nanjing begin protesting in China's Tiananmen Square, demanding greater political freedom.
  • 1989 - Nintendo begins selling the Game Boy handheld video game system in Japan.
  • 1989 - Death of Princess Dukhye of Korea (born 1912).
  • 1990 - Cincinnati Reds win, running their record to 9-0, best start in club history.
  • 1990 - The largest crowd ever to attend a concert, 184,000 people, jam a soccer stadium in Rio de Janeiro for a Paul McCartney show.
  • 1990 - Death of Romain de Tirtoff (pseudonym Erté), French Art Deco artist (born 1892).
  • 1990 - Johnny Beagley, winner of two 1942 World Series games, dies.
  • 1990 - National League umpire is arrested for stealing baseball cards.
  • 1991 - 52nd PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Jack Nicklaus wins.
  • 1991 - Greatest extra-inning comeback, Pittsburgh Pirates score 6 in bottom of 11th erasing 5 run Chicago Cubs lead, Pirates also trailed 7-2 in bottom of 9th.
  • 1991 - Jakov Tolstikov wins fourth World Cup marathon (2:09:17).
  • 1991 - Richard Bolling, American politician (Representative-Democrat-Missouri), dies at age 74.
  • 1991 - Rosa Mota wins fourth World Cup female marathon (2:26:14).
  • 1991 - Willi Boskovsky, Austrian conductor (new year's concert), dies at age 81.
  • 1992 - Mobil Oil tug with 12,000 gallons of oil run aground in Arthur Kill.
  • 1992 - Robert Harris, murderer, executed in California's gas chamber at age 39.
  • 1992 - Vladimir Cyrillovitch, Grand Duke/Russian pretender to the throne, dies at age 74 (born 1917).
  • 1993 - Brazil votes against a monarchy.
  • 1993 - CBS airs the first episode of TV show Walker, Texas Ranger, starring Chuck Norris.
  • 1994 - Eddie Murray sets record for switch hit homeruns in a game (11 times).
  • 1994 - Serbian army bombs distress clinic in Goradze, Bosnia, 28 killed.
  • 1994 - The Red Cross estimates that hundreds of thousands of Tutsi have been killed in Rwanda.
  • 1995 - Boston Celtics final game at Boston Gardens, New York Knicks win 98-92.
  • 1995 - FBI arrests Timothy McVeigh and charges him with Oklahoma City bombing.
  • 1995 - Stafford Heginbotham, toymaker/Football Club Chairman, dies at age 61.
  • 1995 - In Samar, Philippine Islands, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs.
  • 1996 - 57th PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Hale Irwin.
  • 1996 - A H Kardar cricket player (3 Tests for India and 23 for Pakistan 1946-58), dies.
  • 1996 - Barb Mucha wins LPGA Chick-fil-A Charity Golf Championship.
  • 1996 - Dzhokhar Dudayev, President of Republic of Chechenia (1991), dies at age 52 (born 1944).
  • 1996 - Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, oddsmaker/sportscaster (CBS), dies at age 76.
  • 1996 - Matabeleland beats Mashonaland Country District to win Logan Cup.
  • 1996 - Zora Arkus-Duntov, chief engineer of Covrette, dies at age 86, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
  • 1997 - 101st Boston Marathon won by Lameck Aguta of Kenya in 2:10:34.
  • 1997 - 26th Boston Women's Marathon won by Fatuma Roba of Ethopia in 2:26:23.
  • 1997 - Andres Rodriguez, Paraguayan President (1989-93), dies.
  • 1997 - A Pegasus rocket carries the remains of 24 people, including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, into Earth orbit, in the first space burial.
  • 1997 - Diosdado Macapagal, Philippine President (1961-65), dies.
  • 1998 - Death of Peter Lind Hayes at age 82; actor/singer and radio-TV host (Peter Loves Mary TV show).
  • 1998 - Death of Helen Ward at age 82 in Arlington, Virginia, USA; singer ("These Foolish Things", "Goody Goody").
  • 2000 - Death of Neal Matthews of a heart attack; singer (with Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Patsy Cline, Red Foley, Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, George Jones, Marie Osmond, Tom Jones, Merle Haggard).
  • 2002 - French presidential election: The first round results in a runoff between Jacques Chirac and the leader of the main French far-right party, Jean-Marie Le Pen.
  • 2003 - Death of Nina Simone at age 70 from cancer; jazz and soul singer ("My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I Put A Spell On You", "I Loves You Porgy", "Feeling Good", "Sinnerman", "Ain't got no-I got life").
  • 2003 - Retired U.S. Army General Jay Garner becomes Interim Civil Administrator of Iraq.
  • 2003 - Intel releases the 3 GHz Pentium 4 processor with 800 MHz front-side bus.
  • 2004 - Mordechai Vanunu, who revealed an Israeli nuclear weapons programme in the 1980s, is released from prison in Israel after serving 18 years for treason.
  • 2005 - A bus crash in Vietnam's Central Highlands kills 30 Vietnamese war veterans.
  • 2005 - A gunfight on the edge of the Saudi city of Mecca kills two militants and two members of the security forces.
  • 2007 - Birth of HRH Princess Isabella of Denmark, daughter of Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and his wife, Crown Princess Mary.
  • 2007 - Presidential elections are held in Nigeria.
  • 2008 - Bank of America, the largest American retail bank, reports a 77 percent decline in the quarter ending March 31, the third straight quarterly loss. The loss included over US$5 billion in write-downs and credit-related costs.
  • 2008 - In Paris, France, city hall makes visiting Dalai Lama an honorary citizen.
  • 2008 - Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya wins his fourth Boston Marathon, with a time of 2:07:46. In the Woman's Marathon, Dire Tune of Ethiopia finishes in 2:25:25, beating Alevtina Bittimirova by two seconds, in the closest finish in the history of the race. Each winner earned a prize of US$150,000, the biggest in major marathon history.
  • 2008 - Death of Al Wilson at age 68 of kidney failure in Fontana, California, USA; soul singer and songwriter ("The Snake" (1968), "Show and Tell" (1974), Count the Days).
  • 2008 - The Walt Disney Company announces the launch of a new film label, Disneynature, dedicated to producing wildlife and environmental documentaries.
  • 2008 - In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a riot following the Montreal Canadiens' Game 7 win over the Boston Bruins breaks out on Ste-Catherine Street West, resulting in sixteen police cruisers torched a dozen stores vandalized, and sixteen arrests.
  • 2009 - UNESCO launches The World Digital Library.
  • 2010 - Death of Dorothy Height, pioneering voice of the US civil rights movement, at age 98 of natural causes in Washington, D.C. Height was leader of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, an advocate for gender equality and the desegregation of the US armed forces.
  • 2017 - Death of Ugo Ehiogu, English footballer and coach (born 1972).
  • 2019 - A series of bomb attacks occur at eight locations in Sri Lanka, including three churches, four hotels and one housing complex in Colombo, leaving 259 people dead and over 500 injured.
  • 2020 - Mozambique police say 52 male villagers were killed by Islamist militants earlier this month in Muidumbe District, Cabo Delgado Province, after they refused to join the militants.
  • 2020 - Death of Abdurrahim El-Keib, Acting Prime Minister of Libya (born 1950).
  • 2020 - Death of Laisenia Qarase, 6th Prime Minister of Fiji (born 1941).

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