History for April 14 on HistoryUnlimited.net


< Back 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Next >		1935–”Black Sunday” brings the worst dust storm of the Dust Bowl. A huge dust storm blows through areas of New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. One of the biggest dust storms in U.S. history, it displaces an estimated 300 million tons of topsoil.

BC 43–Mark Antony, besieging Caesar's assassin, Decimus Brutus, in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, but is then immediately defeated by the army of the other consul, Aulus Hirtius. 69–Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum and seizes the throne. 70–In the Siege of Jerusalem, Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian, surrounds the Jewish capital with four Roman legions. 193–Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans). 911–Pope Sergius III dies in Rome, Papal States. He was succeeded by Pope Anastasius III. 966–After his marriage to the Christian, Doubravka of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converts to Christianity, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state. 972–Co-Emperor Otto II, a son of Otto I (the Great), marries Byzantine Princess Theophanu. She is crowned empress by Pope John XIII in Rome. 1028–Henry III, son of Conrad, is elected King of Germany. 1132–Mstislav I of Kiev dies in Kiev, Ukraine, at age 55. He figures prominently in the Norse Sagas under the name Harald, taken to allude to his grandfather, Harold II of England. 1204–Henry I, King of Castile and Toledo, is born in Valladolid, Spain. 1205–The Battle of Adrianople takes place between Bulgarians and Crusaders. 1294–Temür, grandson of Kublai, is elected Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, with the reigning titles Oljeitu and Chengzong. 1341–The sacking of Saluzzo, Italy, is done by Italian-Angevine troops, under Manfred V, Marquess of Saluzzo. 1434–The foundation stone of Cathedral St. Peter and St. Paul is laid in Nantes, France. 1471–In England, the Yorkists, under Edward IV, defeat the Lancastrians, under the Earl of Warwick, at the Battle of Barnet. The Earl is killed and Edward IV resumes the throne. 1561–A Celestial phenomenon is reported over Nuremberg, described as an aerial battle. 1570–Polish Calvinists, Lutherians, and Hernhutters unify against the Jesuits. 1574–Louis of Nassau dies after being wounded in battle, at age 36. He was a key figure in the revolt of the Netherlands against Spain and a strongly convinced Calvinist. 1578–Philip III of Spain is born in Madrid, Spain. 1611–The word "telescope" is used for the first time by Prince Federico Cesi. 1639–Imperial forces are defeated by the Swedes at the Battle of Chemnitz. The Swedish victory prolongs the Thirty Years' War and allows them to advance into Bohemia. 1678–Abraham Darby I is born in at Woodsettle, Woodsetton, Staffordshire, England. Born into an English Quaker family, Darby developed a method of producing pig iron in a blast furnace fueled by coke rather than charcoal. This was a major step forward in the production of iron as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution. 1699–The Birth of Khalsa, the brotherhood of the Sikh religion, in Northern India, is in accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar. 1715–The Yamasee War begins in South Carolina. 1741–Emperor Momozono of Japan is born Prince Toohito in Japan. 1759–George Frederic Handel, composer, organist and violinist, dies in London, England, at age 74. Among his best known oratorios are Saul, Israel in Egypt and The Messiah. 1773–Politician, Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, is born Jean-Baptiste Guillaume Joseph Marie Anne Séraphin, comte de Villèle in Toulouse, France. He was the sixth Prime Minister of France. 1775–The first abolition society in North America, The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, is organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush. 1816–Bussa, a slave in British-ruled Barbados, leads a slave rebellion and is killed. He is remembered as the first national hero of Barbados. 1828–Lexicographer, Noah Webster, receives the copyright for his American Dictionary of the English Language, on which he had worked alone for more than 35 years. It is the first truly American dictionary, featuring American spelling, punctuation, and pronunciation. No dictionary today has any connection whatsoever with Webster's work. 1831–Soldiers marching on a bridge in Manchester, England, cause it to collapse. 1844–French writer and critic, Anatole France, is born Jacques Anatole François Thibault in Paris, France. His books include The Gods Are Athirst, The Revolt of Angels, and Penquin Island (in which penguins have been baptized in error by a nearsighted priest). 1846–The Donner Party of pioneers depart from Springfield, Illinois, for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship and suffering. 1849–Hungary declares itself independent of Austria, with Lajos Kossuth as its leader. 1857–Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom is born Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore at Buckingham Palace in London, England. She was the fifth daughter and youngest child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. King Felipe VI of Spain, was her great-great-grandson. 1860–The first Pony Express rider arrives in San Francisco, California, with mail originating in St. Joseph, Missouri. 1863–William Bullock patents the continuous-roll printing press. 1865–John Wilkes Booth shoots President Abraham Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. 1865–U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family are attacked at home by Lewis Powell. 1865–The U.S. Secret Service is created to fight counterfeiting. 1866–Special educator, Anne Sullivan, is born Johanna Mansfield Sullivan in Feeding Hills, Agawam, Massachusetts. She is best known for being the instructor and lifelong companion of Helen Keller. She began her work on March 3, 1887, at the Keller’s home in Tuscumbia, Alabama. It was the beginning of a 49-year relationship: Sullivan evolved from teacher to governess and finally to companion and friend. 1871–Canada sets denominations of currency as dollars, cents, and mills. 1871–”Wild Bill” Hickok becomes the Marshal of Abilene, Kansas. 1881–The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight is fought in El Paso, Texas. 1885–Richard King dies of stomach cancer in San Antonio, Texas, at age 59. He was the founder of the King Ranch in South Texas, which at the time of his death, encompassed over 825,000 acres. 1889–English historian, Arnold (Joseph) Toynbee, is born in London, England. His major work was the 12-volume History of the World. 1890-The Pan-American Union is founded by the First International Conference of American States in Washington, D.C. 1894–Thomas Edison offers the first public demonstration of his Kinetoscope, a device for the display of moving pictures. 1900–The Exposition Universelle, a world's fair held in Paris, France, begins. 1902–Marie and Pierre Curie isolate the radioactive element radium. 1902–James Cash Penney opens his first J.C. Penny store located in Kemmerer, Wyoming. 1903–Dr. Harry Plotz discovers a vaccine for typhoid. 1904–Actor, (Arthur) John Gielgud, is born in South Kensington, London, England. His career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He appeared in the films Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Hamlet, The Loved One, The Shoes of the Fisherman, Oh! What a Lovely War, 11 Harrowhouse, Murder on the Orient Express, Caligula, The Elephant Man, Lion in the Sesert, Chariots of fire, Authur, Gandhi, First Knight, and Elizabeth. 1906–The Azusa Street Revival opens, launching Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement. 1906–Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia (1964-1975), is born in Riyadh, Emirate of Riyadh. 1907–Francois "Doc" Duvalier, dictator of Haiti, is born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He was elected president in 1957, on a populist and black nationalist platform and successfully thwarted a coup d’état in 1958. His rule, based on a purged military, a rural militia known as the Tonton Macoute, and the use of cult of personality, resulted in the murder of 30,000 to 60,000 Haitians and the exile of many more. 1908–Hauser Dam, a steel dam on the Missouri River in Montana, fails, sending a surge of water 25 to 30 feet high downstream. 1909–The Anglo-Persian Oil Company forms in London, England. 1909–A massacre is organized by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian population of Cilicia. 1912–The oceanliner, Titanic, launched on May 31, 1911, en route from Southampton to New York with 2,200 passengers, strikes an iceberg off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, at approximately 11:30 p.m. The ship sinks early the next morning, with over 1,500 dead. 1917–L.L. Zamenhof, physician and linguist, dies of heart failure in Warsaw, Poland, at age 57. He is best known for creating Esperanto, the most successful constructed language in the world. He grew up fascinated by the idea of a world without war and believed that this could happen with the help of a new international auxiliary language, which he first developed in 1873. 1920–Tornadoes kill 219 people in Alabama and Mississippi. 1922–Ali Akbar Khan, Indian composer and maestro sarod player, is born in the village of Shibpur, Nabinagar Upazila, Brahmanbaria, Comilla, East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh). Khan was instrumental in popularizing Indian classical music in the West, both as a performer (often in conjunction with Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar) and as a teacher. 1924–Jazz trumpeter, Shorty Rogers, is born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and Red Norvo. From 1947 to 1949, he worked extensively with Woody Herman, and in 1950 and 1951, he played with Stan Kenton. 1924–American born artist, John Singer Sargent, dies of heart disease in London, England, at age 69. Known as the leading "Grand Manner" portrait painter of his generation, Sargent traveled extensively, living most of his life in Europe. In later life, he devoted himself to mural painting and working en plein air. 1924–Architect, Louis Henry Sullivan, dies in a hotel room in Chicago, Illinois, at age 67. He was interred at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago's Uptown and Lake View neighborhoods, where his grave was marked by a simple headstone. A monument was later built in his honor a few feet away. He is often referred to as "Father of Skyscrapers" and "Father of Modernism." After 30 years of business and financial decline brought about by the “Panic of 1893,” Sullivan had been suffering from alcoholism for many years. 1925–Jazz saxophonist, Gene Ammons, is born Eugene Ammons in Chicago, Illinois. Musicians who played in his groups include Sonny Stitt, Donald Byrd, Jackie McLean, John Coltrane, Kenny Burrell, Mal Waldron, Art Farmer, and Duke Jordan. He was the son of boogie-woogie pianist, Albert Ammons. 1925–Actor, Rod Steiger, is born Rodney Stephen Steiger in West Hampton, New York. He appeared in the films On the Waterfront, Oklahoma!, The Big Knife, Jubal, The Harder They Fall, The Unholy Wife, Cry Terror!, The Mark, Tbe Longest Day, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, No Way to Treat a Lady, The Sergeant, The Illustrated Man, Loly Madonna XXX, W.C. Fields and Me, The Amityvlle Horror, The Chosen, and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe. He was married to actress, Claire Bloom. 1926–Actress, Gloria Jean, is born Gloria Jean Schoonover in Buffalo, New York. She appeared in the films Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Mister Big, Destiny, Copacabana, and The Ladies’ Man. 1926–Actress, Liz Renay, is born Pearl Elizabeth Dobbins in Chandler, Arizona. She was known more as a performer with ties to celebrities, usually actors, rather than as an actress herself. In a tell-all book about her many relationships with men (both famous and not so famous) My First 2,000 Men, she claimed to have had flings with Joe DiMaggio, Regis Philbin, and Cary Grant, among many others. Renay also wrote the book My Face for the World to See. 1927–The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden. 1927–Clarence Birdseye, of Massachusetts, receives a U.K. patent for frozen fish fingers. 1928–The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, reaches Greenly Island, Canada, as the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west. 1928–The Stanley Cup: The New York Rangers beats the Montreal Maroons, 3 games to 2. 1928–Writer and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, is born Marguerite Annie Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. Her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was published in 1969 to critical acclaim. Angelou went on to write seven autobiographies, spoke more than six languages, and earned over 30 honorary degrees. 1929–Astronaut, William Edgar Thornton, is born in Faison, North Carolina. Thornton was selected as a scientist-astronaut by NASA in August 1967. He completed the required flight training at Reese Air Force Base, Texas. 1930–Actor, Bradford Dillman, is born in San Francisco, California. He appeared in the films A Certain Smile, Compulsion, A Circle of Deception, Crack in the Mirror, Sanctuary, A Rage to Live, The Plainsman, Fear No Evil, Brother John, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, The Way We Were, The Iceman Cometh, The Swarm, Running Scared, and Sudden Impact. He was married to model, Suzy Parker. 1931–The Spanish Cortes deposes King Alfonso XIII and proclaims the Second Spanish Republic. 1931–First edition of The Highway Code published in Great Britain. 1931–The Stanley Cup: The Montreal Canadiens beats the Chicago Blackhawks, 3 games to 2. 1932–Country singer, Loretta Lynn, is born Loretta Webb in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. She is known as The First Lady of Country Music and The Queen of Country Music. Her hits include I’m a Honky Tonk Girl, You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Man), Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind), Fist City, Coal Miner’s Daughter, You’re Lookin’ at Country, One’s on the Way, and The Pill. Her younger sister is country singer, Cyrstal Gayle. 1932–Musician, D.L. Menard, is born Doris Leon Menard in Erath, Louisiana. He was a notable songwriter, performer, and recording artist in contemporary Cajun music. He has been called the "Cajun Hank Williams." 1933–Actress, Shani Wallis, is born in in Tottenham, North London, England. She is best known for her roles in the West End, and for the role of Nancy in the Oscar-winning film musical Oliver! 1935–”Black Sunday” brings the worst dust storm of the Dust Bowl. A huge dust storm blows through areas of New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas. One of the biggest dust storms in U.S. history, it displaces an estimated 300 million tons of topsoil. 1935–Babe Ruth plays his first National League game in Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. 1935–Writer, Erich von Däniken, is born Erich Anton Paul von Däniken in Zofingen, Aargau, Switzerland. He wrote the books Chariots of the Gods?, Gods from Outer Space, and Twilight of the Gods: The Mayan Calendar and the Return of the Extraterrestrials. 1935–Actress and director, Joan Darling, is born Joan Kugell in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the first woman nominated for an Emmy for directing. Her work includes Rhoda, Doc, Taxi, Hizzonner, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Magnum, P.I., Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories, and The Bionic Woman. 1936–Police crusader, Frank Serpico, is born in Brooklyn, New York. He is a retired Italian-American New York Police Department (NYPD) officer, known for whistle-blowing on police corruption in the late 1960s and early 1970s: an act that prompted Mayor John V. Lindsay to appoint the landmark Knapp Commission to investigate the NYPD. Much of Serpico's fame came after the release of the 1973 film Serpico, starring Al Pacino in the title role. 1939–John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is published. 1940–RCA demonstrates its electron microscope in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1941–In World War II, German General Erwin Rommel attacks Tobruk. 1941–Actress, Julie (Frances) Christie, is born in Chabua, Assam, British India. She was a pop icon of the "swinging London" era of the 1960s. She appeared in the films Billy Liar, Young Cassidy, Darling, Doctor Zhivago, Fahrenheit 451, Far from the Madding Crowd, Petulia, The Go-Between, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait, Power, Dragonheart, Hamlet, Afterglow, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Finding Neverland, and Away from Her. 1941–Baseball player, Pete Rose, is born Peter Edward Rose, Sr. in Cincinnati, Ohio. He played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989. A switch hitter, Rose is the all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053), singles (3,215), and outs (10,328). 1942–Malta receives the George Cross for its gallantry. The George Cross was given by King George VI himself and is now an emblem on the Maltese national flag. 1944–A massive explosion rocks the harbor in Bombay, India, killing 900 people. 1944–General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes head commander of the Allied Air Fleet. 1945–American planes bomb Tokyo, Japan, damaging the Imperial Palace. 1945–Ritchie Blackmore, of Deep Purple, is born Richard Hugh Blackmore in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England. 1948–A flash of light is observed in the crater Plato on the Moon. 1948–The U.S. conducts an atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak. 1948–The Stanley Cup: The Toronto Maple Leafs beats the Detroit Red Wings, in 4 games. 1949–Actor, John Shea, is born John Victor Shea III in North Conway, New Hampshire. He appeared in the films Hussy, Missing, Windy City, Coast to Coast, Stealing Home, and Freejack. 1952–President Harry Truman signs the official Japanese Peace Treaty. 1955–The Stanley Cup: The Detroit Red Wings beats the Montreal Canadiens, 4 games to 3. 1956–Ampex Corporation demonstrates the first commercial videotape recorder in Chicago, Illinois. The machine has a price tag of $75,000 and is too large to fit into a small room. 1957–Comedian, Richard Jeni, is born Richard John Colangelo in Brooklyn, New York. 1958–The Soviet satellite, Sputnik 2, falls from orbit after a mission of 162 days. 1958–Buddy Holly's Fender Stratocaster guitar is stolen from the band’s station wagon while they stop to have lunch before a concert in St. Louis, Missouri. 1959–The Robert Taft Memorial Bell Tower dedicated in Washington, D.C. 1960–The Stanley Cup: The Montreal Canadiens beats the Toronto Maple Leafs, in 4 games. 1960–Child actor, Brian Forster, is born in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his role on the TV series The Partridge Family. He is the stepson of actor, Whit Bissell, and the great-great-great-grandson of author, Charles Dickens. 1961–Actor, Robert Carlyle, is born in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland. He appeared in the films Riff-Raff, Being Human, Marooned, Trainspotting, The Full Monty, Face, Angela’s Ashes, The Beach, and Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. 1962–Georges Pompidou becomes Prime Minister of France. 1963–After a recording session, The Beatles travel to Richmond-upon-Thames to see for the first time another up-and-coming group, The Rolling Stones. After the show, there is a party at the flat of Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, and Keith Richards, in West Brompton, London, England. The Beatles attend, staying until 4:00 a.m. 1963–The puppet mouse, Topo Gigio, makes the first of 92 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. 1964–American environmentalist, Rachel Carson, dies in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her controversial book, The Silent Spring, on the danger of pesticides, had been published two years earlier. 1965–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. 1965–Murderers, Perry E. Smith and Robert E. Hickok, are executed by hanging. Their story is told in the book In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. 1967–Gnassingbé Eyadéma overthrows President of Togo, Nicolas Grunitzky, and installs himself as the new president, a title he would hold for the next 38 years. 1967–ABC-TV airs the final episode of their afternoon rock music variety show Where The Action Is, featuring Paul Revere and the Raiders. 1968–The 32nd Golf Masters Championship: Bob Goalby wins, shooting a 277. 1968–Record producer, Phil Spector, marries Ronnie Bennett, of The Ronettes. 1968–Actor, Anthony Michael Hall, is born Michael Anthony Thomas Charles Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. He appeared in the films Six Pack, National Lapoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Out of Bounds, Johnny Be Good, Edward Scissorhands, Six Degrees of Separation, Pirates of Silicon Valley, and The Dark Knight. 1969–A tornado strikes Dacca, East Pakistan, killing 540 people. 1969–The 41st Annual Academy Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Oliver!; Best Actor: Cliff Robertson for Charly; Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn for The Lion In Winter and Barbra Streisand for Funny Girl (tie); Best Director: Carol Reed for Oliver!; Best Foreign Film: War and Peace (USSR). The ceremonies are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. There is no host. 1969–The first Major League baseball game outside the U.S. is played in Montreal, Canada. 1970–Rock musician, Stephen Stills, breaks his wrist in an automobile accident in Los Angeles, California. 1971–Fort Point, in San Francisco, California, is dedicated as a national historic site. 1971–The Beatles win their first Oscar for their lackluster performances in the movie, Let It Be, which is voted “Best Film Music (Original Song Score).” 1973–Actor, Adrien Brody, is born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York. He appeared in the films New York Stories, Natural Born Killers, Solo, Liverty Heights, Summer of Sam, Bread and Roses, The Affair of the Necklace, Dummy, The Pianist, The Village, The Jacket, Hollywoodland, The Darjeeling Limited, Cadillac Records, Wrecked, Midnight in Paris, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Houdini. 1974–The 38th Golf Masters Championship: Gary Player wins, shooting a 278. 1976–Carl Bernstein, reporter for The Washington Post, marries film writer and director Nora Ephron, in a civil ceremony in Manhattan, New York. 1976–Fashion designer, Georgina (Rose) Chapman, is born in London, England. 1977–Actress, Sarah Michelle Gellar, is born in New York, New York. She appeared in the films I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, She’s All That, Scooby-Doo, and The Air I Breathe. She is married to Freddie Prinze, Jr. 1977–Actor, Frederic March, dies of prostate cancer in Los Angeles, California, at age 77. He appeared in the films Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Design for Living, Death Takes a Holiday, The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Les Misérables, Anna Karenina, Mary of Scotand, Anthony Adverse, A Star Is Born, Susan and God, The Best Years of Our Lives, Executive Suite, The Desperate Hours, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Middle of the Night, Inherit the Wind, The Young Doctors, Seven Days in May, and Hombre. 1978–Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language. 1980–New wave pop group, The Knack, release their second album just seven months after their first, Get the Knack. This one is titled ...But the Little Girls Understand. 1980–The 52nd Annual Academy Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer; Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman for Kramer vs. Kramer; Best Actress: Sally Field for Norma Rae; Best Director: Robert Benton for Kramer vs. Kramer; Best Foreign Film: The Tin Drum (West Germany). The ceremonies are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The host is Johnny Carson. 1981–The first operational space shuttle, Columbia, lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California, after its first test flight. 1983–Pete Farndon, of The Pretenders, dies of a heroin overdose in London, England, at age 30. 1985–John Lennon’s 82-year-old Aunt Mimi Smith gives a moving interview in a two-part feature for The Sunday People, announcing: “John is always with me. Sometimes I imagine I can see him. Is it him? I like to think so.” (Part two appears on April 21st.) 1985–The 49th Golf Masters Championship: Bernhard Langer wins, shooting a 282. 1986–In retaliation for the April 5th bombing in West Berlin that killed two U.S. servicemen, President Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Libya, killing 60 people. 1986–The heaviest hailstones ever recorded (2.2 lb.) fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92 people. 1986–French writer, Simone de Beauvoir, dies of pneumonia in Paris, France, at age 78. Her book, The Second Sex, was an early inspiration for the feminist movement. 1987–Presidential daughter, Amy Carter, Abbie Hoffman, and 13 others are acquitted on civil disobedience charges related to a CIA protest in Northhampton, Massachusetts. 1988–In a U.N. ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. 1988–The USS Samuel B. Roberts strikes a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will. 1991–The Republic of Georgia introduces the post of President after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. 1991–The 55th Golf Masters Championship: Ian Woosnam wins, shooting a 277. 1994–Branch Davidian cult leader, David Koresh, promises to surrender after completion of his “Seven Seals” manuscript. 1994–In a “friendly fire” incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two U.S. Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two U.S. Army helicopters, killing 26 people. 1995–Folksinger, Burl Ives, dies from complications of oral cancer in in Anacortes, Washington, at age 85. He had big hits with A Little Bitty Tear, Funny Way of Laughin’, and the Christmas hit A Holly Jolly Christmas. He appeared in the films Sierra, East of Eden, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Desire Under the Elms, The Big Country, Summer Magic, The Brass Bottle, Ensign Pulver, and Two Moon Junction. 1996–The 60th Golf Masters Championship: Nick Faldo wins, shooting a 276. 1999–NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees, killing 75 of them. 1999–A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia, causing $1.7 billion in insured damages, making this the most costly natural disaster in Australian history. 1999–Actress, Ellen Corby, dies from a stroke and other health issues in Woodland Hills, California, at age 87. She is best known for the role of Grandma Walton on the long-running TV series The Waltons. She appeared in the films The Spiral Staircase, Sister Kenney, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Long Night, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Forever Amber, I Remember Mama, Little Women, Mighty Joe Young, Harriet Craig, Angels in the Outfield, Shane, Sabrina, Vertigo, Visit to a Small Planet, 4 for Texas, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, and Please Don't Eat the Daisies. 1999–Actor-singer, Anthony Newley, dies of renal cancer in Jensen Beach, Florida, at age 67. He had a big hit with What Kind of Fool Am I? He appeared in the films Vice Versa, Oliver Twist, A Boy, a Girl and a Bike, X the Unknown, The Good Companions, Idol on Parade, The Jazz Boat, Doctor Doolittle, Sweet November, and Alice in Wonderland. 1999–Television announcer, Bill Wendell, dies of cancer in Boca Raton, Florida, at age 75. His most notable stint on television was as the regular announcer for NBC's Late Night with David Letterman, on which he appeared from 1982-1993, the entirety of the show's NBC run. He moved with Letterman to CBS in 1993, staying as announcer on the Late Show with David Letterman. 2000–Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich, files a lawsuit against online music sharing site, Napster. This lawsuit eventually led to the movement against all file-sharing programs. 2000–Computer programmer, Phil Katz, dies as a result of acute pancreatic bleeding caused by chronic alcoholism in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at age 37. He co-created the zip file format for data compression, and was the author of PKZIP, a program for creating zip files that ran under DOS. 2002–Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by his country's military. 2002–The 66th Golf Masters Championship: Tiger Woods wins, becoming the third golfer to win the Masters Tournament in two consecutive years. 2003–The Human Genome Project is successfully completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy. 2003–U.S. troops in Baghdad, capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the MS Achille Lauro in 1985. 2005–The Oregon Supreme Court nullifies nearly 3,000 marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County. 2005–Singer, John Fred, dies of kidney disease in New Orleans, Louisiana, at age 63. He had a #1 hit with an “answer” song to Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds: Judy In Disguise (With Glasses). 2007–At least 200,000 demonstrators in Ankara, Turkey, protest against the possible candidacy of incumbent Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 2007–Singer, Don Ho, dies of heart failure in Waikiki, Hawaii, at age 76. He is best known for his hit Tiny Bubbles. 2009–Former Beatle, George Harrison, is posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 2010–A 6.9 earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai, China, kills 2,700 people. 2011–American super-centenarian, Walter Breuning, dies peacefully in his sleep of natural causes in Great Falls, Montana, at age 114 years (205 days). At the time of his death, Breuning was the fourth oldest verified undisputed man ever, and the third oldest verified American man ever. He was the sixth man verified to have reached age 114. 2012–The 27th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is held. This year’s inductees are: (Performers) Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Donovan, Laura Nyro, The Small Faces/Faces, Beastie Boys, Freddie King, The Crickets, The Famous Flames, The Midnighters, The Comets, The Blue Caps, and The Miracles; (Non-Performer) Don Kirshner, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd, and Glyn Johns; (Sidemen) No awards given; and (Early Influence) No awards given. The ceremony takes place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. 2012–Actor, Jonathan Frid, dies of pneumonia in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at age 87. He is best known for the role of vampire Barnabas Collins on the gothic TV soap opera Dark Shadows. 2013–The 77th Golf Masters Championship: Adam Scott wins, shooting a 279. 2014–Boko Haram abducts 276 school girls in Chibok, Northeastern Nigeria. 2014–Twin bomb blasts in Abuja, Nigeria, kill at least 75 people and injure 141 others. 2014–The Pulitzer Prizes are awarded. Reporting: Eli Saslow, of The Washington Post, for his unsettling and nuanced reporting on the prevalence of food stamps in post-recession America; Fiction: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (Little, Brown); Drama: The Flick by Annie Baker; Non-Fiction: Toms River–A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin (Bantam Books); History: The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832 by Alan Taylor (W. W. Norton); Biography or Autobiography: Margaret Fuller–A New American Life by Megan Marshall (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); Poetry: 3 Sections by Vijay Seshadri (Graywolf Press); Photography: Josh Haner, of The New York Times, for his moving essay on a Boston Marathon bomb blast victim who lost most of both legs and now is painfully rebuilding his life; Music: Become Ocean by John Luther Adams (Taiga Press/Theodore Front Musical Literature). 2015–Senator Marco Rubio announces he is seeking the GOP presidential nomination for 2016. Rubio could make history as the nation's first Hispanic president, as could another presidential hopeful, Senator Ted Cruz. 2015–Soul singer, Percy Sledge, dies of liver cancer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at age 73. He is best known for the song When a Man Loves a Woman, which was a #1 Pop and Soul hit in 1966. 2016–A 6.4 earthquake strikes near Kumamoto, Japan, collapsing several buildings, killing at least four people and injuring 400 others. 2017–Air China suspends all flights to North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, amid rising tensions between North Korea and the United States. 2017–More than 2,000 migrants are rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Libya. 2017–Amtrak Police taser a man at New York's Penn Station after he became agitated due to a delayed train. Bystanders, falsely believing a shooting had occurred, caused a stampede, injuring more than a dozen people. 2017–Musician, Bruce Langhorne, dies from complications of a stroke at age 78. He was active in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s, primarily as a session guitarist for folk albums and performances. He worked with Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Gordon Lightfoot, Hugh Masekela, Odetta, Richard and Mimi Fariña, Tom Rush, Steve Gillette, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Peter, Paul & Mary. In 1963, he accompanied Bob Dylan on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The title character of Bob Dylan's song, Mr. Tambourine Man, was inspired by Langhorne, who used to play a large Turkish frame drum in performances and recordings. The drum had small bells attached around its interior, giving it a jingling sound much like a tambourine. 2018–The California Three States Initiative may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018. The measure would task the governor with asking Congress to divide the state of California into three states: California, Northern California, and Southern California. 2018–The Taliban destroys an electricity pylon in Doshe, Baghlan, Afghanistan. The pylon carries imported power from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and its destruction causes widespread blackouts across several provinces and in the capital, Kabul. PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Septimius Severus; the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul; George Frederic Handel; Anatole France; Anne Sullivan; John Gielgud; the Titanic; Louis Henry Sullivan; Liz Renay; Bradford Dillman; Shani Wallis; Julie Christie; General Dwight D. Eisenhower; Ampex Corporation's first videotape recorder; Georges Pompidou; Where the Action Is; a poster for the film Charly; Adrien Brody; Frederic March; the Columbia space shuttle; Simone de Beauvoir; Burl Ives; Anthony Newley; Judy In Disguise (with Glasses) by John Fred and His Playboy Band; Laura Nyro; and Donna Tartt.
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