This Week in History

HISTORY, 11 Apr 2016

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

TWH logo history

Apr 11-17

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life.” – Mark Twain

 APRIL 11

2012  An earthquake of 8.2 magnitude hits Indonesia, off northern Sumatra at a depth of 16.4 km. A tsunami hits the island of Nias at Indonesia.

2011  An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus kills 15 people and injures 204 others.

2007  2007 Algiers bombings: Two bombings in the Algerian capital of Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.

2007 Algiers Bombings:

Algerian Civil War:

Algeria:

History of Algeria:

Economy of Algeria:

Foreign Relations of Algeria:

Algeria and the United Nations:

2006  Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces that Iran has successfully enriched uranium.

Iran’s Enrichment of Uranium:

2002  Over two hundred thousand people marched in Caracas towards the Presidential Palace of Miraflores, to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. 19 of the protesters are killed, and the Minister of Defense Gral. Lucas Rincon announces Hugo Chávez resignation on national TV.

2002 Coup Attempt and Hugo Chávez:

2002  The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.

Ghriba Synagogue Bombing:

2001  The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.

1990  Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, United Kingdom, say they have seized what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.

1989  Ron Hextall becomes the first goaltender in NHL history to score a goal in the playoffs.

1987  The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.

Peres-Hussein London Agreement:

1981  A massive riot in Brixton, south London, results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.

1979  Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.

Idi Amin and His Deposition:

Uganda:

History of Uganda:

Foreign Relations of Uganda:

Economy of Uganda:

1977  London Transport‘s Silver Jubilee buses are launched.

1976  The Apple I is created.

History of and Apple Inc. and Apple Computers:

1972  First edition of the BBC comedy panel game I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue is broadcast, one of the longest-running British radio shows in history.

1972  USSR performs underground nuclear test.

1970  Apollo 13 is launched.

Apollo 13:

1968  President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.

Civil Rights Act of 1968:

1965  The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.

1963  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1963  Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all instead of to Catholics alone.

Pacem in Terris:

1961  The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.

Trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem:

1957  United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.

Singaporean Self-Rule:

History of Singapore:

Singapore:

1955  The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.

History of the Kashmir Conflict:

Timelines of the Kashmir Conflict:

1952  The Battle of Nanri Island takes place.

1951  The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.

1951  Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.

President Truman’s Decision on Relieving General MacArthur:

Douglas MacArthur’s Farewell Speech:

Korean War:

Timelines of the Korean War:

1945  World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.

Buchenwald Concentration Camp:

1921  Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralized government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.

History of the Emirate of Trans Jordan:

1919  The International Labour Organization is founded.

History of the International Labour Organization:

1909  The city of Tel Aviv is founded.

History of Tel Aviv:

1908  SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, launches.

1888  The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam is inaugurated.

1881  Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.

1876  The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.

1868  Former Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. This leads Japan to the end of the samurai society and to the modernization of the state system.

1856  Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker‘s filibusters are holed up.

1814  The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.

1809  Battle of the Basque Roads Naval battle fought between France and the United Kingdom

1727  Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach‘s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig

Bach’s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b:

1713  War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War): Treaty of Utrecht.

 

 

APRIL 12

2014  The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes.

Great Fire of Valparaíso:

2013  Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali.

2009  Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency.

Abandonment of the Zimbabwean Dollar:

2007  A suicide bomber penetrates the Green Zone and detonates in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.

2002 A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market, killing 7 and wounding 104.

1999  US President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving “intentionally false statements” in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.

1994  Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam.

1992  The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland. The resort and its park’s name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.

1990  Jim Gary‘s “Twentieth Century Dinosaurs” exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.

1983  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1981  The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place – the STS-1 mission.

History of the Space Shuttle Program:

Space Shuttle Program and Its Military Purposes:

1980  Terry Fox begins his “Marathon of Hope” at St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope:

1980  Samuel Doe takes control of Liberia in a coup d’état, ending over 130 years of minority Americo-Liberian rule over the country.

Liberian Coup of 1980:

1970  Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board.

1963  The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits.

1961  The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight, Vostok 1.

Yuri Gagarin, First Man in Space:

1957  USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

Soviet Nuclear Tests (including those performed in 1958):

Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

1955  The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.

Polio Vaccine:

1945  The US Ninth Army under General William H. Simpson crosses the Elbe River astride Magdeburg, and reached Tangermünde—only 50 miles from Berlin.

1945    US President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies while in office; Vice President Harry Truman, becomes President upon Roosevelt’s death.

Death of FDR:

1937  Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.

1935  First flight of the Bristol Blenheim.

1928  The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.

1927  Shanghai massacre of 1927: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Communist Party of China members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.

1917  World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.

1910  SMS Zrínyi, one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.

1877  The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.

Transvaal:

History of Transvaal:

1831  Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England cause it to collapse.

1820  Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.

 

 

APRIL 13

2014  A bus traveling from Villahermosa to Mexico City crashes into a tractor-trailer and catches fire, killing at least 36 people.

1997  Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.

1992  The Great Chicago flood devastates much of central Chicago.

1987  Portugal and the People’s Republic of China sign an agreement in which Macau would be returned to China in 1999.

1984  India moves into Siachen Glacier thus annexing more territory from the Line of Control.

1983  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1976  The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson‘s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.

1975  Bus massacre in Lebanon: An attack by the Phalangist resistance kills 26 militia members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, marking the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.

1974  Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the United States’ first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1.

1972  Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins.

Vietnam War in 1972:

1972  The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.

1970  An oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the spacecraft while en route to the Moon.

1964  At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.

1960  The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.

1958  Cold War: American Van Cliburn wins the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

1953  CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.

Project MK-Ultra:

CIA and Mind Control:

History of the CIA:

1948  The Hadassah medical convoy massacre: In an ambush, 79 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital and a British soldier are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarra near Jerusalem.

Hadassah Medical Convoy Massacre:

1945  World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna, Austria.

1945  World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.

1944  Diplomatic relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.

1943  The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson‘s birth.

1943  World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London from the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.

Katyń Forest Massacre (a.k.a. Katyń Massacre):

1941  A Pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.

1919  Eugene V. Debs is imprisoned at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, for speaking out against the draft during World War I.

1919  Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British troops gun down at least 379 unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar, India; at least 1200 are wounded.

1919  The establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

1909  The Turkish military reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Ottoman Countercoup of 1909:

History of the Ottoman Empire:

1873  The Colfax massacre, in which more than 60 African Americans are murdered, takes place.

Colfax Massacre:

1870  The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.

1849  Hungary becomes a republic.

History of Hungary:

Hungary:

Foreign Relations of Hungary:

Economy of Hungary:

1829  The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.

 

 

APRIL 14

2014  Two hundred seventy-six schoolgirls are abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok, Northeastern Nigeria.

School Girls Abduction by Boko Haram:

Timelines of the Abduction of School Girls by Boko Haram:

Boko Haram:

2014  Twin bomb blasts in Abuja, Nigeria, kill at least 75 people and injures 141 others.

2010  Nearly 2,700 are killed in a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai, China.

2010 Yushu Earthquake:

2007  At least 200,000 demonstrators in Ankara, Turkey, protest against the possible candidacy of incumbent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

2005  The Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Multnomah County.

2003  US 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.

2003  The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.

Human Genome Project:

2002  Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country’s military.

1999  A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$2.3 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history.

1999  NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees. Yugoslav officials say 75 people were killed.

Kosovo War Timelines:

Kosovo War/Conflict:

Independence of Kosovo:

Kosovo Liberation Army:

The United States, NATO and the Kosovo Conflict:

History of Kosovo:

1994  In a US friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two United States Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two United States Army helicopters, killing 26 people.

1991  The Republic of Georgia introduces the post of President after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.

1988  In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

Departure of the Soviet Army from Afghanistan:

Afghan War (1978-1992):

Relations between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union:

Foreign Relations of Afghanistan:

Afghanistan and the United Nations:

Afghanistan:

History of Afghanistan:

Economy of Afghanistan:

1988  The USS Samuel B. Roberts strikes a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will.

1986  The heaviest hailstones ever recorded (1 kilogram (2.2 lb)) fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92.

1986  In retaliation for the April 5 bombing in West Berlin that killed two U.S. servicemen, U.S. president Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Libya, killing 60 people.

1981  STS-1: The first operational Space Shuttle, Columbia completes its first test flight.

1978  Tbilisi Demonstrations: Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.

Tbilisi Demonstrations of April 1978:

1968  At the US Academy Awards there is a tie for the Academy Award for Best Actress between Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand.

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.

History of Togo:

Togo:

1965  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1961  Element 103 (Lawrencium) discovered.

Element 103 (Lawrencium):

1958  The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days. This was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika. The female dog likely lived only a few hours.

1956  In Chicago, videotape is first demonstrated.

History of Videotape:

1944  Bombay Explosion: A massive explosion in Bombay harbor kills 300 and causes economic damage valued then at 20 million pounds.

Bombay Explosion:

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.

1941  World War II: German general Erwin Rommel attacks Tobruk.

1940  World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway in preparation for a larger force to arrive two days later.

1939  The Grapes of Wrath, by American author John Steinbeck is first published by the Viking Press.

1935  “Black Sunday Storm“, the worst dust storm of the U.S. Dust Bowl.

1931  First edition of The Highway Code published in Great Britain.

1931  The Spanish Cortes deposes King Alfonso XIII and proclaims the Second Spanish Republic.

1928  The Bremen, a German Junkers W33 type aircraft, reaches Greenly Island, Canada – the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.

1927  The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.

1912  The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 23:40 (sinks morning of April 15th).

RMS Titanic:

1909  A massacre is organized by Ottoman Empire against Armenian population of Cilicia.

Adana Massacre:

1906  The Azusa Street Revival opens and will launch Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement.

1894  The first ever commercial motion picture house opened in New York City using ten Kinetoscopes, a device for peep-show viewing of films.

1890  The Pan-American Union is founded by the First International Conference of American States in Washington, D.C.

1881  The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight is fought in El Paso, Texas.

1865  US Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family are attacked in his home by Lewis Powell.

1865  US President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth (died April 15th).

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln:

 

 

APRIL 15

2014  More than 200 female students are declared missing after a mass kidnapping in Borno State, Nigeria.

School Girls Abduction by Boko Haram:

Timelines of the Abduction of School Girls by Boko Haram:

Boko Haram:

2013  Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 264 others.

1994  Conclusion of the Uruguay Round (eight round) of GATT, officially establishing WTO.

World Trade Organization (WTO):

Globalization:

History of Globalization:

The End of Globalization? :

1989  Upon Hu Yaobang‘s death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.

Timelines of the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989:

1989  Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.

1986  The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.

1984  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1984  The inaugural World Youth Day is held in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City.

1983  Tokyo Disneyland opens to the public.

1970  During the Cambodian Civil War, massacres of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.

1969  The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 on board.

1964  The first Ford Mustang rolls off the show room floor, two days before it is set to go on sale nationwide.

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.

1955  McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.

History of McDonald’s:

McWorkers and McDonald’s:

Environmental Issues and McDonald’s:

Other Relevant Topics and McDonald’s:

1955  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Operation Teapot – 1955 Nevada Proving Ground:

US Nuclear Tests at Nevada:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1952  The maiden flight of the B-52 Stratofortress

B-52 Stratofortress:

1947  Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.

Baseball Color Line:

Sports and Racism:

1945  The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.

Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp:

1942  The George Cross is awarded “to the island fortress of Malta: Its people and defenders” by King George VI.

1941  In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom killing one thousand people.

1940  The Allies begin their attack on the Norwegian town of Narvik which is occupied by Nazi Germany.

1936  Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.

1936  First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.

1935  Roerich Pact signed in Washington, D.C.

Roerich Pact of 1935:

1927  The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the most destructive river flood in U.S. history, begins.

1924  Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.

1923  Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.

1922  US 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.

1921  Black Friday: Mine owners announce more wage and price cuts, leading to the threat of a strike all across England.

1920  Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.

1912  The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.

RMS Titanic:

1907  Triangle Fraternity is founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

1900  Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.

Philippine-American War:

1896  Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.

1892  The General Electric Company is formed.

1865  President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson, becomes President upon Lincoln’s death.

Death of Abraham Lincoln:

1861  President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War

1817  Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.

1802  William Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy see a “long belt” of daffodils, inspiring the former to pen I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.

1783  Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence) are ratified.

1755  Samuel Johnson‘s A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.

Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language:

1738  Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel receives its premiere performance in London, England.

1715  The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.

1642  Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Parliamentarian army.

 

 

APRIL 16

2014  The MV Sewol ferry carrying more than 450 people capsizes near Jindo Island off South Korea, leaving 295 passengers and crew dead and 9 more missing.

2013  An earthquake of 7.8-magnitudestrikes Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, killing at least 35 people and injuring 117 others.

2012  The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced, it was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize.

2012  The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway.

2007  Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho guns down 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide.

2003  The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union.

European Union in 2003:

2001  India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.

India-Bangladesh Five-Day Border Conflict of 2001:

1995  George W. Bush names April 16 as Selena Day in Texas, after she was killed two weeks earlier.

1992  The Katina P runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.

1990  The “Doctor of Death”, Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.

Assisted Suicide:

Right to Commit Suicide or the Right to Die? :

1980  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Tests at Nevada:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1974  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1972  Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

1963  Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.

Letter from Birmingham Jail:

Martin Luther King, Jr.:

History of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States – Overview:

Civil Rights Movements of Various Ethnic Minorities in the United States:

1962  Walter Cronkite takes over as the lead news anchor of the CBS Evening News, during which time he would become “the most trusted man in America”.

1961  In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.

Fidel Castro:

Cuba or the “Republic of Cuba” (Repúlica de Cuba):

Foreign Relations of Cuba:

Cuba and USSR/Russia:

History and Culture of Cuba:

Economy of Cuba:

1957  USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

Soviet Nuclear Tests (including those performed in 1957):

Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

1953  Queen Elizabeth II launches the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia.

1947  Bernard Baruch coins the term “Cold War” to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.

1947  Texas City disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.

1945  More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine.

1945  The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).

1945  World War II: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fighting in the Battle of the Seelow Heights.

1944  World War II: Allied forces start bombing Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.

1943  Albert Hoffman accidentally discovers the hallucinogenic effects of the research drug LSD[1] He intentionally takes the drug three days later on April 19.

1941  World War II: The Ustaše, a Croatian ultranationalist organization is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after Operation 25 is effected.

1941  World War II: The Italian convoy Duisburg, directed to Tunisia, is attacked and destroyed by British ships.

1940  Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians throws the only Opening Day no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, beating the Chicago White Sox 1–0.

1925  During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.

1922  The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.

1919  Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.

History of Poland:

Poland and Russia:

Poland:

Foreign Relations of Poland:

Economy of Poland:

1919  Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of “prayer and fasting” in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British colonial troops three days earlier.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:

1912  Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.

1858  The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.

1853  The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.

1847  The accidental shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand land wars.

Wanganui Campaign:

Background and the Timelines of the New Zealand Land Wars:

1818  The United States Senate ratifies the Rush–Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada.

1799  Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor: Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.

 

 

APRIL 17

2014  NASA‘s Kepler confirms the discovery of the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of another star.

Discovery of the Earth-size Habitable Zone:

2013  An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, kills 15 people and injures 160 others.

2006  A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates an explosive device in Tel Aviv, killing 11 people and injuring 70.

1987  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1986  Nezar Hindawi‘s attempt to detonate a bomb aboard an El Al flight from London to Tel Aviv is thwarted.

1986  The Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years’ War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly ends.

1984  Police Constable Yvonne Fletcher is killed by gunfire from the Libyan People’s Bureau (Embassy) in London during a small demonstration outside the embassy. Ten others are wounded. The events lead to an 11-day siege of the building.

1982  Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.

1982  US Nuclear Tests at Nevada:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1978  Mir Akbar Khyber is assassinated, provoking a communist coup d’état in Afghanistan.

1975  The Cambodian Civil War ends. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.

1973  George Lucas begins writing the treatment for The Star Wars.

Star Wars:

1971 The People’s Republic of Bangladesh forms, under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Mujibnagor.

History of Bangladesh:

Bangladesh Liberation War:

1970  Apollo program: The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.

1969  Communist Party of Czechoslovakia chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.

1969  Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.

1964  Ford Mustang is introduced to the North American market.

1964  Jerrie Mock becomes the first woman to circumnavigate the world by air.

1961  Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.

Bay of Pigs Invasion:

Cuba and the United States:

Fidel Castro:

Cuba or the “Republic of Cuba” (Repúlica de Cuba):

Foreign Relations of Cuba:

Cuba and USSR/Russia:

Cuban Missile Crisis:

History and Culture of Cuba:

Economy of Cuba:

1951  The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom’s first National Park.

1949  At midnight 26 Irish counties officially leave the British Commonwealth. A 21-gun salute on O’Connell Bridge, Dublin, ushers in the Republic of Ireland.

Ireland’s Withdrawal from the British Commonwealth of 1949:

History of Ireland:

Irish War of Independence:

1946  Syria obtains its independence from the French occupation.

Independence of Syria:

Modern History of Syria:

1945  World War II: Brazilian forces liberate the town of Montese, Italy, from Nazi forces.

1944  Forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People’s Liberation Army attack the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrenders. Its leader Dimitrios Psarros is murdered.

1942  French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Königstein Fortress.

1941  World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.

History of Yugoslavia:

Yugoslavia during World War II:

AVNOJ, Yugoslavia and World War II:

1937  Daffy Duck‘s first appearance, in Porky’s Duck Hunt.

1912  Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150.

1907  The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day.

1905  The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York, which holds that the “right to free contract” is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

1897  The Aurora, Texas, UFO incident

Aurora, Texas, UFO Incident of 1897:

1895  The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.

1797  Citizens of Verona, Italy, begin an eight-day rebellion against the French occupying forces, which will end unsuccessfully.

1797  Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in America.

_________________________________

Satoshi Ashikaga, having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, prefers a peaceful and prudent life, especially that in communion with nature.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, remind him of the invaluableness of peace.  His interest and/or expertise includes international affairs, international law, jurisprudence, economic and business affairs, project/operations or organizational management, geography, history, the environmental/ecological issues, science and technology, visual/audio documentation of nature and culture, and more. Being a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, he is currently compiling This Week in History on TMS.

(Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/april_11   to_april_17; http://www.onthisday.com/events/april/11   to april/17; http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/april_11.html   to april_17.html; and other pertinent web sites and/or documents, mentioned above.)

  1. The views expressed in the cited or quoted websites and/or documents in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this article. These websites and/or documents are cited or quoted for academic or educational purposes. Neither the author of this article nor the Transcend Media Service (TMS) is responsible for the contents, information, or whatsoever contained in these websites and/or documents.
  2. One of the primary purposes of this article is to provide the readers with opportunities to think about “peace”, including positive peace and negative peace as well as external/outer peace and internal/inner peace, and more, directly or indirectly, from various angles and/or in the broadest sense, through historical events. It is because this article is prepared specifically for the TMS whose main objective is to address “peace”.

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 11 Apr 2016.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: This Week in History, is included. Thank you.

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