On This Day In History
April 7th
30 Scholars’ estimate for Jesus’ crucifixion by Roman troops in Jerusalem [or April 3]
529 First draft of Corpus Juris Civilis (fundamental work in jurisprudence) issued by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I
1948 World Health Organization formed by the United Nations
1954 US President Dwight D. Eisenhower in news conference is first to voice fear of a “domino-effect” of communism in Indo-China
1969 The Internet’s symbolic birth date: publication of RFC 1
1999 The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas
Did You Know?
Dick Turpin executed in England for horse stealing
Today in History in 1739
Would You Believe?
Longest-ever captured python found on Penang in Malaysia (26ft/8m)
Today in History in 2016
April 8th
1767 Ayutthaya kingdom falls to Burmese invaders
1886 William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
1898 Battle of Atbara River, Anglo-Egyptian forces crush 6,000 Sudanese
1913 Opening of China’s 1st parliament takes place in Peking (now Beijing)
2004 Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups
Did You Know?
Egyptian archaeologists announce their most important find since Tutankhamun’s tomb – discovery of a lost ‘golden city’ the 3,000-years-old ancient city of Aten near Luxor
Today in History in 2021
Would You Believe?
1st fire escape patented, wicker basket on a pulley & chain
Today in History in 1766
April 9th
1483 Edward V (aged 12) succeeds his father Edward IV as king of England. He is never crowned, and disappears presumed murdered, after incarceration in the Tower of London with his younger brother Richard (the “Princes in the Tower”)
1731 British mariner Robert Jenkins’ ear cut off by Spanish Guarde Costa in the Caribbean, later catalyst for war between Britain & Spain
1768 John Hancock refuses to allow two British customs agents to go below deck of his ship, considered by some to be the first act of physical resistance to British authority in the colonies
1865 Confederate General Robert E. Lee and 26,765 troops surrender at Appomattox Court House to US Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant ending the Civil War in North Virginia
1869 Hudson Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada
1992 John Major elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after his Conservative Party wins the most votes in British electoral history
2003 Baghdad falls to U.S. forces, ending the Invasion of Iraq, but resulting in widespread looting
Did You Know?
1st public art exhibition at the Palais-Royale in Paris
Today in History in 1667
Would You Believe?
San Diego Padres owner Ray Kroc, addresses fans “Ladies & gentlemen, I suffer with you I’ve never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life”
Today in History in 1974
April 10th
1407 Lama Deshin Shekpa visits the Ming Dynasty capital at Nanjing and is awarded the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma
1516 1st Jewish ghetto established: Venice compels Jews to live in a specific area
1815 Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies experiences a cataclysmic eruption, one of the most powerful in history, killing around 71,000 people, causes global volcanic winter
1858 “Big Ben”, a 13.76 tonne bell, is recast at the Whitechapel Bell Foundry
1972 US, USSR & 70 other nations agree to ban biological weapons
1998 The Good Friday Agreement [Belfast Agreement] for Northern Ireland is signed by the British and Irish governments
Did You Know?
RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton for her maiden (and final) voyage
Today in History in 1912
Would You Believe?
Fastest wind speed ever recorded (not a tornado) 408 km/h (220 kn; 253 mph; 113 m/s) during tropical cyclone Olivia on Barrow Island, Australia
Today in History in 1996
April 11th
1783 Hostilities formally cease in the American Revolutionary War [1]
1814 Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates unconditionally and he is exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean
1868 The Shogunate is abolished in Japan
1955 Chartered Air India plane the “Kashmir Princess” is bombed and crashes into the South China Sea in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by a Kuomintang secret agent
1968 US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs 1968 Civil Rights Act
1979 Tanzanian army captures Kampala, the capital of Uganda forcing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin to flee into exile in Libya
2015 Barack Obama and Raúl Castro meet in Panama, the 1st meeting of US and Cuban heads of state since the Cuban Revolution
2019 Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir overthrown and arrested by the army in Khartoum after 29 years in power
Did You Know?
The first modern submarine designed and built by John Philip Holland is purchased by the U.S. Navy
Today in History in 1900
Would You Believe?
Fossilized dinosaur eggs with embryos are discovered in China
Today in History in 2013
April 12th
1204 4th Crusade occupies and plunders Constantinople
1811 1st US colonists on Pacific coast arrive at Cape Disappointment, Washington
1861 Fort Sumter in South Carolina is attacked by the Confederacy, beginning the American Civil War
1872 Jesse James‘ gang robs a bank of $1,500 in Columbia, Kentucky, 1 dead
1927 Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek begins counter revolution in Shanghai
1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into space and orbit Earth, aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft
Did You Know?
Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft at Rugby, England.
Today in History in 1937
Would You Believe?
Harvard University patents a genetically engineered mouse (1st for animal life)
Today in History in 1988
April 13th
1250 The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt, Louis IX of France captured
1598 Edict of Nantes grants political rights to French Huguenots
1860 1st Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento, California
1868 Abyssinian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Magdala and Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II commits suicide
Did You Know?
Apollo 13 announces “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here”, as Beech-built oxygen tank explodes en route to Moon
Today in History in 1970
Would You Believe?
New Zealander Colin Bosher shears a record 565 sheep in 1 work day
Today in History in 1964