628–Empress Suiko of Japan dies in Japan, at age 74. In the history of Japan, Suiko was the first of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant.
769–The Lateran Council condemns the Council of Hieria and anathematizes its iconoclastic rulings.
1071–Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard.
1367–King Henry IV, the first English monarch from the Lancastrian Dynasty, is born in Bolingbroke Castle, Lincolnshire, England.
1395–Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the throne.
1450–Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.
1452–Artist, Leonardo da Vinci, is born Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci in the Republic of Florence, Italy. As a painter, sculptor, architect, mathematician, engineer, inventor, musician, philosopher, scientist, cartographer, and writer, he was the ultimate “Renaissance Man.” Leonardo da Vinci is widely thought to be the most diversely creative individual who ever lived. Predominantly revered for his painting, his most famous works include the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper.” But his notebooks reveal a creative genius who made scientific drawings of flying machines, solar power, contact lenses, and other inventions that would not be possible for centuries. Just over a dozen of da Vinci's paintings still survive, due in part to his predilection for experimenting with new techniques, which at times proved disastrous. His body of work, however, constitutes a profound contribution to future generations, equaled only by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo.
1469–Nanak Dev, is born in Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan. He was the founder of the religion of Sikhism and the first Sikh Guru.
1632–Swedes, under Gustavus Adolphus, defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War.
1642–A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush, when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army.
1642–Ottoman sultan, Suleiman II, is born at Topkapi Palace in Constantinople.
1646–Christian V of Denmark is born at Duborg Castle, Flensburg, Denmark.
1646–Mystic and philosopher, Pierre Poiret, is born in Metz, France. His most permanently valuable contribution is Bibliotheca mysticorum selecta, which displays an astonishing acquaintance with ancient and modern mystics, and contains valuable information on some of the less-known writers. He also published a large number of mystical writings both from the Middle Ages and from the French Pietists of the 17th century.
1684–Catherine I, Empress of Russia (1725-1727), is born Marta Elena Skavronska in Latvia. She was the second wife of Peter I of Russia and reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death.
1715–The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
1736–The Kingdom of Corsica is founded.
1738–The bottle opener is invented.
1738–Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, receives its premiere performance in London, England.
1755–Dr. Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language, is published in London, England. When it appears, it has over 40,000 words with definitions and quotations. It is the first true working dictionary of the English language. When some spinster sisters told Johnson that they had noted some rude words in his dictionary, he scolded them for having been looking for them.
1764–Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France, dies of tuberculosis in Paris, Kingdom of France, at age 42. She took charge of the King’s schedule and was a valued aide and advisor, despite her frail health and many political enemies. Hostile critics generally tarred her as a malevolent political influence, but historians are more favorable, emphasizing her successes as a patron of the arts and a champion of French pride.
1776–Natalia Alexeievna of Russia dies during childbirth in St. Petersburg, Russia, at age 20. She was the first wife of the future Tsar Paul I of Russia.
1783–Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence) are ratified.
1797–Historian and politician, Adolphe Thiers, is born Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers in Bouc-Bel-Air, France. He was the second President of France.
1800–Arctic explorer, James Clark Ross, is born in London, England. He was a British naval officer and explorer, best known for his exploration of the Arctic with his uncle, Sir John Ross, and Sir William Parry and, in particular, his own expedition to Antarctica.
1812–Artist, Théodore Rousseau, is born Étienne Pierre Théodore Rousseau in Paris, France. He shared the difficulties of the romantic painters of 1830, in securing a place in the annual Paris exhibition. The influence of classically trained artists was against them, and it was not until 1848 that Rousseau presented adequately to the public. There are a number of good paintings by him in the Louvre, and the Wallace collection contains one of his most important Barbizon paintings.
1817–The first American school for the deaf opens in Hartford, Connecticut.
1819–Inventor, Oliver Evans, dies at age 64. He designed the first automatic flour mill.
1841–Canadian distillery founder, Joseph E. Seagram, is born in Fisher's Mills, Canada West. His 1907 creation, Seagram's VO whisky, became the largest-selling Canadian whisky in the world.
1843–Author, Henry James, is born in New York, New York. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th century literary realism. His works include The Europeans, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, and What Maisie Knew. He was the son of Henry James, Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist, William James, and diarist, Alice James.
1850–The city of San Francisco, California, is incorporated.
1861–President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to quell the insurrection that will soon become the American Civil War.
1865–President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 a.m. at Petersen House, Washington D.C., after being shot the previous evening by John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson is sworn in as the 17th President of the United States. Lincoln's assassination made him a national martyr and endowed him with a recognition of mythic proportion. He has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as one of the greatest U.S. presidents.
1878–Harley Proctor, of Proctor & Gamble, perfects Ivory, the floating soap.
1889–Missionary, Father Damien, dies of leprosy in Kalaupapa, Moloka’i, Hawaii, at age 49. As the Patron Saint of the Diocese of Honolulu and of Hawaii, “Father Damien Day” is celebrated statewide on April 15th. Upon his beatification by Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy, on June 4, 1995, Damien was granted a memorial feast day, which is celebrated on May 10th.
1892–The General Electric Company is established.
1894–Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1953-1664), is born in Kalinovka, Russia.
1894–Blues singer, Bessie Smith, is born Elizabeth Mae Smith in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her first recording, Down Hearted Blues, sold more than two million copies in the first year alone. She recorded 150 blues songs, backed by such great musicians as Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, and Benny Goodman. Edward Albee wrote a play about her death, which allegedly stemmed from segregation medical practices in the South.
1896–The I Olympic Games close in Athens, Greece.
1900–Exposition Universelle World Fair opens in Paris, France.
1900–Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.
1904–Armenian-American painter, Arshile Gorky, is born. His work synthesized Surrealism with the sumptuous color and painterliness of the School of Paris into his own "lyrical abstraction," pioneering a completely new language which would inform generations of painters. Gorky's work hangs in every major American museum and in preeminent museums worldwide. His best known works are “Liver is the Cock's Comb,” “One Year the Milkweed,” and “The Betrothal II.”
1912–The oceanliner, RMS Titanic, sinks at 2:27 a.m. in the North Atlantic. The death toll of the disaster will be 1,503. The USS Chester and USS Salem sail from Massachusetts to assist Titanic survivors. Thomas Andrews, Jr., the naval architect in charge of the plans for the ocean liner, was on board and died in the disaster.
1912–Kim II Sung, Eternal President of North Korea (1945-1994), is born in Mangyongdae, P'yong'yang-bu, P'yong'annam-do, Japanese Korea. He was the supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly referred to as North Korea, for 46 years, from its establishment in 1948, until his death in 1994.
1912–Businessman, Benjamin Guggenheim, dies aboard the sinking oceanliner RMS Titanic, at age 46. Guggenheim and his valet, Victor Giglio, were last seen seated in deck chairs in the foyer of the Grand Staircase, sipping brandy and smoking cigars. He was the fifth of seven sons of the wealthy mining magnate, Meyer Guggenheim, and his wife, Barbara Myers.
1916–Businessman, Alfred S. Bloomingdale, is born Alfred Schiffer Bloomingdale in New York, New York. Bloomingdale was born into great wealth. He was the son of Rosalind and Hiram Bloomingdale, and the grandson of Lyman G. Bloomingdale, a co-founder of the famous department store, Bloomingdales.
1917–Actor, Hans Conried, is born Hans Georg Conried, Jr. in Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for the role of Uncle Tonoose on Danny Thomas's sitcom Make Room for Daddy. He appeared in the films The Great Dictator, Maisie Was a Lady, Saboteur, The Big Street, Mrs. Parkington, My Friend Irma, On the Town, Summer Stock, I’ll See You in My Dreams, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, Rock-A-Bye Baby, My Six Loves, and The Cat from Outer Space.
1918–The first Marine Aviation Force is formed at Marine Flying Field, Miami, Florida.
1920–Canada releases its new small cent coin.
1921–A Massachusetts payroll truck is robbed and two security guards are murdered. Niccolà Sacco (shoemaker and labor organizer) and Bartolomo Vanzetti (fish salesman and anarchist) are charged for the alleged murders, tried, and executed on August 23, 1927. Much of the evidence was inconclusive, and racial and political prejudice were the main factors that convicted them. Governor Dukakis overturned their convictions and exonerated them on July 19, 1977.
1922–U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.
1922–Actor, Michael (George) Ansara, is born in a small village in Lebanon. He is best known for the role of Cochise in the Western TV series Broken Arrow. He was also seen in dozens of other TV shows, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Rifleman, The Untouchables, The Outer Limits, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Gunsmoke, and Star Trek. He appeared in the films Soldiers Three, My Favorite Spy, The Lawless Breed, White Witch Doctor, The Robe, Road to Bali, Julius Caesar, The Egyptian, The Ten Commandments, The Sad Sack, The Greatest Story Ever Tiold, Harum Scarum, Texas Across the River, and The Manitou. He was married to actress, Barbara Eden.
1923–Insulin becomes generally available for use by diabetics.
1923–At New York's Rialto Theatre, Lee De Forest screens a selection of musical shorts demonstrating his sound-on-film process, the first sound films to be shown to a paying audience.
1923–Actor, Harvey Lembeck, is born in Brooklyn, New York. Best known for his motorcycle gangleader role of Eric Von Zipper in several of the “Beach Party” movies, Lembeck was well-respected in the entertainment industry and conducted acting classes in Beverly Hills, California, in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in the films Stalag 17, Love with the Proper Stranger, Hello, Down There, and Raid on Entebbe. His son is actor, Michael Lembeck.
1924–Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
1927–The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in U.S. history, begins.
1927–Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and Norma and Constance Talmadge are the first “movie stars” to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California.
1927–Writer, Albert Goldman, is born in Dormont, Pennsylvania. Goldman wrote what were considered scathing biographies of Lenny Bruce, Elvis Presley, and John Lennon. He died in 1994, in the midst of conducting research for a Jim Morrison biography.
1928–The restaurant, Alioto's, on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California, opens for business.
1929–Adrian Cadbury, chocolate candy manufacturer, is born George Adrian Hayhurst Cadbury in Cambridge, England. He joined the Cadbury business in 1958, and became Chairman of Cadbury Ltd. in 1965. He retired as Chairman of Cadbury Schweppes in 1989.
1933–Country singer, Roy (Linwood) Clark, is born in Meherrin, Virginia. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1992. Clark is highly regarded and renowned as a guitarist and banjo player, and is also skilled in classical guitar and several other instruments.
1933–Actress, Elizabeth (Victoria) Montgomery, is born in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for the role of Samantha Stevens on the TV series Bewitched. She appeared in the films Bells Are Ringing, Johnny Cool, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?; and the TV movies Mrs. Sundance, A Case of Rape, The Legend of Lizzie Bordon, Belle Star, and Sins of the Mother. Her father was actor, Robert Montgomery. She was married to actor, Gig Young, director, William Asher, and actor, Robert Foxworth.
1936–Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.
1936–Palestinian Arabs begin a general strike in protest to Jewish immigration, and within a month, 21 Jews are killed in Arab attacks.
1937–The Stanley Cup: The Detroit Red Wings beats the New York Rangers, 3 games to 2.
1939–Actress, Claudia Cardinale, is born in La Goulette, Tunis, Tunisia. She appeared in some of the most acclaimed European films of the 1960s and 1970s (mainly Italian or French), but also in several English films. She appeared in the films Girl with a Suitcase, The Lovemakers, Cartouche, The Pink Panther, Circus World, The Professionals, Don’t Make Waves, Once Upon a Time in the West, and Fitzcarraldo.
1939–Singer-songwriter, Marty Wilde, is born Reginald Leonard Smith in Blackheath, South London, England. He was among the first generation of British pop stars (along with Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard) to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky, Kim, and Roxanne Wilde.
1940–The Allies begin their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik, which is occupied by Nazi Germany.
1940–Writer, Jeffrey Howard Archer, is born in London, England. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969-1974), but resigned over a financial scandal that left him almost bankrupt. His books have sold around 330 million copies worldwide. His books include Kane and Abel, A Matter of Honour, Honour Among Thieves, and Paths of Glory.
1940–Actor, Robert (Hudson) Walker, Jr., is born in New York, New York. He was cast in the TV shows Route 66, Naked City, The Big Valley, Star Trek, The Time Tunnel, The Invaders, and Bonanza. He appeared in the films The Ceremony, Ensign Pulver, The Happening, The War Wagon, Killers Three, Easy Rider, and The Passover Plot. His parents were actor, Robert Walker, and actress, Jennifer Jones.
1941–The first helicopter flight to last a full hour takes place at Stratford, Connecticut.
1941–In the Belfast Blitz, 200 bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing 1,000 people.
1942–The George Cross is awarded "to the island fortress of Malta: its people and defenders" by King George VI.
1942–(Harold) Allan Clark, of The Hollies, is born in Salford, Lancashire, England. He was the original lead singer of the pop group.
1942–Businessman, Kenneth (Lee) Lay, is born in Tyrone, Missouri. He played a leading role in the corruption scandal that led to the downfall of Enron Corporation. Lay and Enron became synonymous with corporate abuse and accounting fraud when the scandal broke in 2001. On July 7, 2004, Lay was indicted by a grand jury on 11 counts of securities fraud and related charges.
1944–Rock musician, Dave (William) Edmunds, is born in Cardiff, Wales. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, and had many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll. He had a big hit with I Hear You Knocking.
1945–Franklin Delano Roosevelt is buried on the grounds of his Hyde Park home.
1945–The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
1947–Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming Major League baseball's first black player.
1947–Television producer, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, is born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. She is best known for creating, writing, and producing several TV series, most notably Designing Women.
1947–Actress, Lois (Cleveland) Chiles, is born in Houston, Texas. She appeared in the films The Way We Were, The Great Gatsby, Coma, Death on the Nile, Moonraker, Broadcast News, Say Anything, Lush Life, and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
1949–A hailstone five inches by five-and-a-half inches in size, weighing four pounds, is found in Troy New York.
1949–Actor, Wallace Beery, dies of a heart attack in Beverly Hills, California, at age 64. He appeared in the films The Last of the Mohicans, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Robin Hood, The Lost World, The Champ, Grand Hotel, and Treasure Island.
1951–Household hints columnist, Heloise, is born Ponce Kiah Marchelle Heloise Cruse Evans in Waco, Texas. She is a writer, author, and speaker specializing in lifestyle hints, including consumer issues, pets, travel, food, home improvement, and health. Heloise's mother, Heloise Bowles, started a newspaper column in The Honolulu Advertiser called "Readers Exchange" in February 1959, which was later changed to "Hints from Heloise" when King Features Syndicate picked up the column and started syndicating it nationwide. Within just a few years, the column appeared in over 600 newspapers. Heloise took over the column in 1977, when mother died of heart disease.
1951–Astronaut, Marsha S. Ivins, is born in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1984, Ivins was selected as an astronaut candidate. She has flown aboard missions STS-32 (1990), STS-46 (1992), STS-62 (1994), STS-81 (1997), and STS-98 (2001).
1951–Astronaut, John L. Phillips, is born in Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. He is also a Naval Aviator and retired Captain of the U.S. Navy Reserve. Phillips has received numerous awards and special honors: he is a National Merit Scholar, graduated second in his class of 906 people at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972. Phillips has also been awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Gagarin Medal.
1952–Franklin National Bank issues the first bank credit card.
1952–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
1952–The Stanley Cup: The Detroit Red Wings beats the Montreal Canadiens, in 4 games.
1955–The U.S. Supreme Court sets the income tax deadline for April 15th. It had previously been March 15th.
1955–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
1955–Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants, with the first location in Des Plaines, Illinois. Kroc, a milk shake machine salesman, hired the McDonald brothers, and then bought their hamburger restaurant to start serving fast food. A two-patty hamburger cost 15¢ and french fries were a dime.
1955–Egyptian businessman, Dodi Al-Fayed, is born Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the son of Egyptian billionaire, Mohamed Al-Fayed. He was a romantic partner of Diana, Princess of Wales, with whom he died in a car crash in Paris, France, on August 31, 1997.
1956–Mitch Miller, DJ Alan Freed, and two psychiatrists, appear on Eric Sevareid's television program, CBS Sunday News, to discuss the "potentially negative effects of rock 'n' roll on teenagers."
1956–Astronaut, Gregory J. Harbaugh, is born in Cleveland, Ohio. Harbaugh came to NASA’s Johnson Space Center after graduation from Purdue University in 1978. He held engineering and technical management positions in Space Shuttle flight operations, and supported Shuttle flight operations from Mission Control for most of the flights from STS-1 through STS-51-L.
1958–A tornado 300 yards wide moves along a five-mile path near Frostproof, Florida. A 2,500-gallon water tank is found one mile from its original location.
1958–The 10th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards announces its winners. Best Dramatic Series: Gunsmoke; Best Dramatic Anthology Series: Playhouse 90; Best Comedy Series: The Phil Silvers Show; Best Musical, Variety, Audience Participation or Quiz Series: The Dinah Shore Chevy Show; Best Public Service Program: Omnibus; Best New Series: The Seven Lively Arts; Best Actor: Robert Young; Best Actress: Jane Wyatt. The ceremonies are held at the Coconut Grove in Hollywood, California. The host is Danny Thomas.
1959–Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, arrives in Washington, D.C., to begin a goodwill tour of the United States.
1959–British actress, Emma Thompson, is born in Paddington, London, England. She is considered one of Britain's most accomplished actresses. She appeared in the films The Tall Guy, Impromptu, Dead Again, Howards End, Peter’s Friends, Much Ado About Nothing, The Remains of the Day, Carrington, Sense and Sensibility, The Winter Guest, Primary Colors, Love Actually, Nanny McPhee, Stranger Than Fiction, Last Chance Harvey, and Saving Mr. Banks. She was married to actor, Kenneth Branagh.
1960–At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
1960–Dick Clark's youth-oriented movie, Because They're Young, with appearances by James Darren and Duane Eddy, premieres in New York.
1961–The first nuclear-powered frigate, U.S.S. Bainbridge, is launched at Quincy, Massachusetts.
1962–The U.S. National Debt rises above $300,000,000,000.
1964–The 17.6 mile Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel opens to traffic. It is considered one of the “Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World.”
1964–The first Ford Mustang rolls off the show room floor, two days before it is set to go on sale nationwide.
1966–The cover story in Time magazine is titled “London: The Swinging City.”
1969–North Korea shoots down a U.S. Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 people on board.
1970–During the Cambodian Civil War, massacres of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong River into South Vietnam.
1971–Jim Morrison leaves for Paris, France. On his arrival, he and his girlfriend, Pamela Courson, check into the Le Maris Hotel, which is located on the Right Bank.
1971–According to Rolling Stone, the Illinois Crime Commission has compiled a list of “drug-oriented rock records.” The list includes White Rabbit by The Jefferson Airplane, A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum, A Little Help From My Friends by The Beatles, and Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul & Mary.
1971–The 43rd Annual Academy Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Patton; Best Actor: George C. Scott for Patton; Best Actress: Glenda Jackson for Women in Love; Best Director: Franklin J. Schaffner for Patton; Best Foreign Film: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Italy). The ceremonies are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. There is no host. During this ceremony George C. Scott becomes the first actor to reject an Oscar.
1974–The 78th Boston Marathon is won by Neil Cusack of Ireland, with a time of 2:13:39.
1974–The 3rd Boston Women's Marathon is won by Miki Gorman of California, with a time of 2:47:11.
1975–Actor, Richard Conte, dies of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California, at age 65. He appeared in the films Call Northside 777, Thieves’ Highway, The Blue Gardenia, The Big Combo, I’ll Cry Tomorrow, They Came to Cordura, Ocean’s 11, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Assault in a Queen, Tony Rome, and The Godfather.
1975–U.S. test pilot, John B. McKay, dies from liver disease in Lancaster, California, at age 52. As a civilian research pilot and aeronautical engineer, he made 30 flights in X-15s from October 28, 1960, until September 8, 1966.
1978–Great Britain conducts a nuclear test.
1979–The 43rd Golf Masters Championship: Fuzzy Zoeller wins, shooting a 280.
1980–Actor, Paul Langton, dies in Burbank, California, at age 66. He is best known for the role of Leslie Harrington for 284 episodes on the long-running prime time soap opera Peyton Place. He appeared in the films Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, They Were Expendable, The Hoodlum Saint, Courage of Lassie, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Big Knife, The Incredible Shrinking Man, It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Twilight of Honor, 4 for Texas, Man's Favorite Sport?, Advance to the Rear, Shock Treatment, and Youngblood Hawke.
1980–French philosopher, novelist, playwright and poet, Jean-Paul Sartre, dies in Paris, France, at age 74. He was awarded, but declined to accept, the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964.
1982–Actress, Clara Blandick, dies of suicide from an overdose of sleeping pills in Hollywood, California, at age 80. She leaves her resume and press clippings in plain sight so the newspapers will get her obituary right. She is best known for the role of Auntie Em in The Wizard of Oz.
1983–Disneyland opens in Tokyo, Japan.
1984–The USSR conducts a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh.
1984–The inaugural World Youth Day is held at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.
1984–The 48th Golf Masters Championship: Ben Crenshaw wins, shooting a 277.
1984–Comedian, Tommy Cooper, dies of a heart attack while on live TV at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, England, at age 63. He was a prop comedian and magician. Cooper was a member of the Magic Circle, respected by traditional magicians. He was famed for his red fez, and his appearance was large and lumbering at 6 feet, 4 inches tall.
1985–The 89th Boston Marathon is won by Geoff Smith of Great Britain, with a time of 2:14:05.
1985–The 14th Boston Women's Marathon is won by Lisa Larsen Weidenbach, with a time of 2:34:06.
1986–The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon against Libya.
1988–A meteorite explodes above Indonesia.
1989–A “human crush” occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, killing 96 Liverpool fans.
1989–Upon the death of Hu Yaobang, the Tiananmen Square protests begin in the People's Republic of China.
1989–A chart topper: Eternal Flame by The Bangles.
1990–The comedy show, In Living Color, debuts on FOX-TV.
1990–Actress, Emma Watson, is born Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson in Paris, France. She is best known for the role of Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” film series, appearing in all eight “Harry Potter” films from 2001 to 2011. She also appeared in the films My Week with Marilyn, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and Noah.
1990–Actress, Greta Garbo, dies of in New York, New York, at age 84. She was a Swedish film actress and international star and icon during the 1920s and 1930s. She appeared in the films Anna Christie, Grand Hotel, Anna Karenina, Camille, Ninotchka, and Two-Faced Woman.
1990–Jazz saxophonist, Dexter Gordon, dies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at age 67. His studio and live performance career spanned over 40 years. Gordon's height was 6 feet 6 inches, so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" and the "Sophisticated Giant."
1991–The 95th Boston Marathon is won by Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya, with a time of 2:11:06.
1991–The 20th Boston Women's Marathon is won by Wanda Panfil of Poland, with a time of 2:24:18.
1992–Billionairess, Leona Helmsly, is sent to prison for tax evasion.
1992–Jay Leno makes his final appearance as permanent “guest host” of The Tonight Show.
1992–Actors, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley are inducted into The National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
1994–The conclusion of the Uruguay Round (eight round) of GATT takes place, officially establishing WTO.
1996–Jerry Garcia's ashes are scattered near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. A portion of the Grateful Dead guitarist's remains had already been deposited into the Ganges in India.
1996–The 100th Boston Marathon is won by Moses Tanui of Kenya, with a time of 2:09:15.
1996–The 25th Boston Women's Marathon is won by Uta Pippig of Germany, with a time of 2:27:12.
1998–During a vacation at their Arizona ranch, Paul and Linda McCartney go horseback riding together. As things turn out, it will be for the last time.
1998–Cambodian dictator, Pol Pot, dies of a lethal dose of a combination of Valium and chloroquine in Anlong Veng, Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia, at age 72. Journalist, Nate Thayer, who was present, took the view that Pol Pot killed himself when he became aware of Ta Mok's plan to hand him over to America.
1999–Mojo magazine publishes poll results naming the greatest pop singer of all time: John Lennon. The top singers in the poll after Lennon are Elvis Presley (#2), Aretha Franklin (#3), Frank Sinatra (#4), Bob Dylan (#5), Roy Orbison (#6), and Paul McCartney (#7).
2000–Artist, Edward Gorey, dies at Cape Cod Hospital, Hyannis, Massachusetts, at age 75. He is known for his macabre pen and ink drawings and stories and is considered America’s greatest Goth eccentric.
2001–Joey Ramone, of The Ramones, dies of lymphoma in Manhattan, New York, at age 49.
2010–Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts and its ash grounds thousands of airplane flights across Europe.
2011–Pop singer, Christina Aguilera, divorces music executive, Jordan Bratman, due to irreconcilable differences after five years of marriage.
2013–Terrorists are responsible for two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injure 183 others.
2013–A wave of bombings across Iraq kill 33 people and injure 163 others.
2013–The Pulitzer Prizes are awarded. Reporting: The New York Times staff for its penetrating look into business practices by Apple and other technology companies that illustrates the darker side of a changing global economy for workers and consumers; Fiction: The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (Random House); Drama: Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar; Non-Fiction: Devil in the Grove–Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King (Harper); History: Embers of War–The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America's Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall (Random House); Biography or Autobiography: The Black Count–Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss (Crown); Poetry: Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds (Alfred A. Knopf); Photography: Rodrigo Abd, Manu Brabo, Narciso Contreras, Khalil Hamra, and Muhammed Muheisen, of the Associated Press, for their compelling coverage of the civil war in Syria; Music: Caroline Shaw for Partita for 8 Voices.
2014–More than 200 female students are declared missing after a mass kidnapping in Borno State, Nigeria.
2014–A total lunar eclipse occurs, producing a Blood Moon.
2014–In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, at least 200 civilians are gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship and hospitals.
2015–Passionate, evocative, never-before-seen love letters by Mexican painter Frida Kahlo to her New York lover, Spanish artist and refugee José Bartoli, go up for sale at Doyle New York during a large Rare Books, Autographs & Maps auction. The cache of 25 original, autographed letters are expected to be the highlight of the sale, fetching anywhere from $80,000 to $120,000. Transcribed in both colored ink and pencil, the letters range from two to 12 pages in length, and for the most part include the original stamped and postmarked envelope.
2016–Human rights abuse victims during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos stake a claim on auction proceeds from Imelda Marcos' art collection, which includes pieces by Michelangelo, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso.
2016–The New York Post, a daily newspaper controlled by media magnate, Rupert Murdoch, endorses Donald Trump for President of the United States.
2016–U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, informs Russia that under the rules of engagement, the plane that flew over the USS Donald Cook on April 13th could have been shot down.
2016–Japan's Mount Aso in the Kumamoto Prefecture erupts sending ash about 300 feet into the air. The Japan Meteorological Agency kept its alert level at 2 on a scale of 5 following the eruption.
2017–NASA snaps the first photos of a mysterious new crack in one of Greenland’s largest glaciers, the Petermann Glacier.
2017–Flash flooding caused by torrential rain leaves at least 17 people dead and 20 others missing in northwestern Iran.
2017–Actor, Clifton James, dies of complications from diabetes in Gladstone, Oregon, at age 96. He appeared in the films Experiment in Terror, David and Lisa, Black Like Me, Cool Hand Luke, Will Penny, The Biscuit Eater, Live and Let Die, The Last Detail, Rancho Deluxe, Silver Streak, Superman II, and Eight Men Out.
2017–Super-centenarian, Emma Morano, dies in Pallanza (Verbano-Cusio-Ossola), Italy, at age 117 (and 137 days). She was the last person living who was born in the 1800s. She was the oldest Italian person ever, the second oldest European person ever (behind Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment), and one of the five verified oldest people ever.
2018–Israeli Defence Forces announce the destruction of a Gaza-Israel tunnel thought to belong to Hamas, with Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman calling it the longest tunnel found to date.
2018–Prominent New York LGBT and environmental lawyer, David Buckel, commits suicide by setting himself on fire with petrol in Prospect Park. He circulates a suicide note indicating his death is in protest against the use of fossil fuels.
2018–Asteroid 2018 GE3, sized between 121 and 453 feet, passes 120,000 miles from Earth, as possibly the largest known asteroid to ever pass that close in observational history.
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1865–President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 a.m. at Petersen House, Washington D.C., after being shot the previous evening by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln's assassination made him a national martyr and endowed him with a recognition of mythic proportion. He has been consistently ranked both by scholars and the public as one of the greatest U.S. presidents.
