This Week in History

HISTORY, 28 Mar 2016

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

TWH logo history

Mar 28–Apr 3

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” – John A. Shedd

MARCH 28

2006  At least one million union members, students, and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government’s proposed First Employment Contract law.

2005  The 2005 Sumatra earthquake rocks Indonesia, and at magnitude 8.7 is the fourth strongest earthquake since 1965.

2003  In a friendly fire incident, two A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the United States Idaho Air National Guard‘s 190th Fighter Squadron attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing British soldier Matty Hull.

1999  Kosovo War: Serb paramilitary and military forces kill 146 Kosovo Albanians in the Izbica massacre.

Izbica Massacre:

Kosovo Conflict:

Independence of Kosovo:

Kosovo Liberation Army:

The United States, NATO and the Kosovo Conflict:

History of Kosovo:

1994  In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg, resulting in 18 deaths.

1990  President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.

1972  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1979  The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against James Callaghan‘s government, precipitating a general election.

1978  The US Supreme Court hands down 5–3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, 435 US 349, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.

1970  Gediz earthquake: A 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes western Turkey at about 23:05 local time, killed 1,086 and injured 1,260.

1969  Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.

Giorgos Seferis and His Statement of 1969:

1968  Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is shot by the police in a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant for low-income students. The aftermath of his death is one of the first major events against the military dictatorship.

1959  The State Council of the People’s Republic of China dissolves the government of Tibet.

Tibetan Issues:

Tibetan Uprising of 1959:

History of Tibet:

Economy of Tibet:

13th Dalai Lama:

14th Dalai Lama:

1951  First Indochina War: In the Battle of Mạo Khê, French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflict a defeat on Việt Minh forces commanded by General Võ Nguyên Giáp.

First Indochina War:

Battle of Mao Khê:

1946  Cold War: The United States State Department releases the Acheson–Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.

Acheson–Lilienthal Report:

1942  World War II: St Nazaire Raid: In occupied France, British naval forces successfully raid the German-occupied port of Saint-Nazaire.

1941  World War II: Battle of Cape Matapan – in the Mediterranean Sea, British Admiral Andrew Browne Cunningham leads the Royal Navy in the destruction of three major Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers.

1939  Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid after a three-year siege.

Spanish Civil War:

Conquest/Fall of Madrid:

1933  The Imperial Airways biplane City of Liverpool is believed to be the first airline lost to sabotage when a passenger sets a fire on board.

1913  Guatemala becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1883  Tonkin Campaign: French victory in the Battle of Gia Cuc.

Battle of Gia Cuc:

1871  The Paris Commune is formally established in Paris.

1860  First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka begins.

First Taranaki War (and the Second Taranaki War):

Battle of Waireka:

1854  Crimean War: France and Britain declare war on Russia.

Crimean War:

Timeline of Crimean War:

History of Crimea:

1814  War of 1812: The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom defeats the United States Navy in the Battle of Valparaiso, Chile.

1809  Peninsular War: France defeats Spain in the Battle of Medellín.

Peninsular War:

Battle of Medellín:

1802  Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid known to man.

1795  Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a northern fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.

1794  Allies under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeat French forces at Le Cateau.

1776  Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.

1566  The foundation stone of Valletta, Malta‘s capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

 

 

MARCH 29

2014  The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.

2013  A landslide kills 66 people in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region near Lhasa.

2013  At least 36 people are killed when a 16-floor building collapses in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

2010  Two female suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40.

2004  The Republic of Ireland becomes the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants.

2004  Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO as full members.

Military Budgets of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia:

NATO:

History of NATO:

Problems of NATO:

The United States and NATO:

2002  In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

Passover Massacre:

Operation Defensive Shield:

1999  An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 strikes the Chamoli district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, killing 103.

1999  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time, during the height of the dot-com bubble.

1993  Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province.

1990  The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.

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

1984  The Baltimore Colts load its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer its operations to Indianapolis.

1982  The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.

1981  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1974  Local farmers in Lintong District, Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China, discover the Terracotta Army that was buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, in the third century BCE.

1974  NASA‘s Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.

1973  Operation Barrel Roll, a covert US bombing campaign in Laos to stop communist infiltration of South Vietnam, ends.

Operation Barrel Roll:

1971  Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.

Vietnam War in 1971:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

Anti-Viet Nam War Movement or Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War:

1971  A Los Angeles jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers.

1971  My Lai Massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.

My Lai Massacre War Crimes:

My Lai Massacre:

1962  Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina’s armed forces, ending an 11½ day constitutional crisis.

1961  The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.

1951  Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.

1947  Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.

Malagasy Uprising:

1946  Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, one of Mexico’s leading universities, is founded.

1945  World War II: The German 4th Army is almost destroyed by the Soviet Red Army.

1945  World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England.

1942  The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II is the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city.

1941  World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.

1941  The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time.

1936  In Germany, Adolf Hitler receives 99% of the votes in a referendum to ratify Germany’s illegal reoccupation of the Rhineland, receiving 44.5 million votes out of 45.5 million registered voters.

1930  Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.

1911  The M1911 .45 ACP pistol becomes the official U.S. Army side arm.

1886  Dr John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta.

1882  The Knights of Columbus are established.

1879  Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.

Anglo-Zulu War:

Battle of Kambula:

Anglo-Zulu War Timelines:

1867  Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes the Dominion of Canada on July 1.

1865  American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins.

1857  Sepoy Mangal Pandey of the 34th Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry mutinies against the East India Company‘s rule in India and inspires the protracted Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.

1849  he United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.

1847  Mexican–American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.

1831  Great Bosnian uprising: Bosniaks rebel against Turkey.

1809  King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d’état. At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland’s four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden.

 

 

MARCH 30

2009  Twelve gunmen attack the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan.

2006  The United Kingdom Terrorism Act 2006 becomes a law.

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

1982  Space Shuttle program: STS-3 Mission is completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

1981  US President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr. Another two people are wounded at the same time.

Reagan Assassination Attempt:

1979  Airey Neave, a British Member of Parliament, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.

1976  The first Land Day protests are held in Israel/Palestine.

Land Day in 1976:

1972  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1972  Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.

Vietnam War in 1972:

Easter Offensive of 1972:

1965  Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.

Vietnam War in 1965:

1964  Jeopardy!, hosted by Art Fleming debuts.

1961  The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed in New York City.

Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs:

1949  A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO.

1945  World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna; Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig.

1944  Allied bombing raid on Nuremberg. Along the English eastern coast 795 aircraft are dispatched, including 572 Lancasters, 214 Halifaxes and 9 Mosquitos. The bombers meet resistance at the coasts of Belgium and the Netherlands from German fighters. In total, 95 bombers are lost, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of World War II.

1944 World War II: Allied bombers conduct their most severe bombing run on Sofia, Bulgaria.

1940  Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei.

Second Sino-Japanese War:

1939  Detective Comics #27 is released, introducing Batman.

1939  The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745km/h).

1918  Outburst of bloody March Events in Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate.

March Days/Events in Baku of 1918:

1912  Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fes, making Morocco a French protectorate.

1909  The Queensboro Bridge in New York City opens, linking Manhattan and Queens.

1899  German Society of Chemistry issues an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights.

1885  The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the British Empire and Russian Empire.

Battle for Kushka:

Panjdeh Incident:

1867  Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.

Purchase of Alaska:

 

 

MARCH 31

2004  Iraq War in Anbar Province: In Fallujah, Iraq, four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed after being ambushed.

1998  Netscape released Mozilla source code under an open source license.

1994  The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull.

1991  Georgian independence referendum, 1991: Nearly 99 percent of the voters support the country’s independence from the Soviet Union.

Georgian Independence Referendum of 1991:

1990  Approximately 200,000 protestors take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.

1986  Six metropolitan county councils are abolished in England.

1985  The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (then the WWF), takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York.

1984  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1980  The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.

1979  The last British soldier leaves the Maltese Islands. Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).

1970  Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.

1966  The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.

Luna 10:

1964  A coup d’état in Brazil establishes a military government, under the aegis of General Castelo Branco.

Coup in Brazil in 1964:

Coup in Brazil of 1964 and the United States:

1959  The 14th Dalai Lama, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.

14th Dalai Lama:

Tibetan Issues:

Tibetan Uprising of 1959:

History of Tibet:

Economy of Tibet:

1958 In the Canadian federal election, the Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265.

1957  Elections to the Territorial Assembly of the French colony Upper Volta are held. After the elections PDU and MDV form a government.

1951  Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.

1949  The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada.

1945  World War II: A defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, the world’s first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.

1942  World War II: Japanese forces invade Christmas Island, then a British possession.

1933  The Civilian Conservation Corps is established with the mission of relieving rampant unemployment in the United States.

1931  An earthquake destroys Managua, Nicaragua, killing 2,000.

1930  The Motion Picture Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty-eight years.

1921  The Royal Australian Air Force is formed.

1918  Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.

1918  Massacre of ethnic Azerbaijanis is committed by allied armed groups of Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Bolsheviks. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijani Muslims are killed.

Massacre of Ethnic Azerbaijanis of 1918:

1917  The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands.

1913  The Vienna Concert Society rioted during a performance of modernist music by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Anton von Webern, causing a premature end to the concert due to violence; this concert became known as the Skandalkonzert.

1910  Six North Staffordshire Pottery towns federate to form modern Stoke-on-Trent.

1909  Construction of the ill fated RMS Titanic begins.

1909  Serbia accepts Austrian control over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1906  The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later the National Collegiate Athletic Association) is established to set rules for college sports in the United States.

1903  Richard Pearse allegedly makes a powered flight in an early aircraft.

1899  Malolos, capital of the First Philippine Republic, was captured by American forces.

1889  The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.

Eiffel Tower:

1885  The United Kingdom establishes the Bechuanaland Protectorate.

 

 

APRIL 01

2011  After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of thirteen people, including eight foreign workers.

2009  Croatia and Albania join NATO.

Military Budgets of Croatia and Albania:

NATO:

History of NATO:

Problems of NATO:

The United States and NATO:

2006  The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the “British FBI”, is created in the United Kingdom.

Serious Organised Crime Agency:

2004  Korea Train Express was opened to traffic from Seoul to –Dongdaegu.

2004  Google announces Gmail to the public.

2001  Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it.

Same-Sex Marriage in Netherlands:

LGBT Rights:

2001  Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.

2001  An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, China and is detained.

1999  Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.

1997  Comet Hale–Bopp is seen passing at perihelion.

1989  Margaret Thatcher‘s new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the “poll tax”), is introduced in Scotland.

1986  Sector Kanda: Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attacks a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion.

1979  Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.

Iranian Referendum of March 1979:

1978  The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, becomes the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

1976  The Jovian–Plutonian gravitational effect, soon revealed as an April Fools’ Day hoax, is first reported by British astronomer Patrick Moore.

1976  Conrail takes over operations from six bankrupt railroads in the Northeastern U.S.

1976  Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.

1974  The metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England come into being.

1973  Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.

1971  Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre over 1,000 people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.

Pakistan Army Massacre of 1971:

Bangladesh Liberation War:

1970  President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General‘s warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertising on television and radio in the United States, starting on January 1, 1971.

1969  The Hawker Siddeley Harrier enters service with the Royal Air Force.

1967  The United States Department of Transportation begins operation.

1960  Dr. Martens released its first boots, the model 1460.

1960  The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.

1959  Iakovos is enthroned as Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America.

1955  The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of obtaining the desired unification (“enosis”) with Greece.

1954  United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.

1952  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

1949  The 26 counties of the Irish Free State become Ireland.

Irish Free State:

History of Ireland:

Irish War of Independence:

1949  The Government of Canada repeals Japanese Canadian internment after seven years.

Japanese Canadian Internment:

1949  Chinese Civil War: The Chinese Communist Party holds unsuccessful peace talks with the Nationalist Party in Beijing, after three years of fighting.

1948  Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark.

1948  Cold War: Berlin Airlift: Military forces, under direction of the Soviet-controlled government in East Germany, set up a land blockade of West Berlin.

Berlin Blockade and the Berlin Airlift:

1947  The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.

1947  Paul becomes king of Greece, on the death of his childless elder brother, George II.

1946  Formation of the Malayan Union.

1946  Aleutian Islands earthquake: An 8.6 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands creates a tsunami that strikes the Hawaiian Islands killing 159, mostly in Hilo.

1945  World War II: Operation Iceberg: United States troops land on Okinawa in the last major campaign of the war.

Operation Iceberg and the Battle of Okinawa:

1944  Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.

1941  A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of ‘Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.

Military Coup of Iraq in 1941:

1941  The Blockade Runner Badge for the German navy is instituted.

1941  Fântâna Albă massacre: Between 200 and 2,000 Romanian civilians are killed by Soviet Border Troops.

Fântâna Albă Massacre:

1939  Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.

Spanish Civil War:

1937  Spanish Civil War: Jaén, Spain is bombed by Nazi forces.

1937  Aden becomes a British crown colony.

1935  India’s central banking institution, The Reserve Bank of India is formed.

1933  The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.

1924  The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.

1924  Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the “Beer Hall Putsch“. However, he spends only nine months in jail, during which he writes Mein Kampf.

Mein Kampf:

1922  Six Irish Catholic civilians are shot and beaten to death by a gang of policemen in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

1919  The Staatliches Bauhaus school is founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar.

1918  The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

1908  The Territorial Force (renamed Territorial Army in 1920) is formed as a volunteer reserve component of the British Army.

1893  The rank of Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy is established.

1891  The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.

1887  Mumbai Fire Brigade is established.

1873  The White Star steamer RMS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in the worst marine disaster of the 19th century.

1871  The first stage of the Brill Tramway opens.

1867  Singapore becomes a British crown colony.

 

APRIL 02

2015  Gunmen attack Garissa University College in Kenya, killing at least 148 people and wounding 79 others.

2014  Greenpeace releases its annual energy efficiency report praising several Internet companies, including Apple, which scored poorly a couple of years ago; Amazon was noted as lagging behind in use of renewable energy for its data centers.

Greenpeace and Energy Efficiency Issues:

2014  The US National Security Agency confirms that it has been using a legal loophole to search phone calls and emails of Americans without a warrant.

NSA’s Warrantless Data Collection:

2014  A spree shooting occurs at the Fort Hood Army Base near the town of Killeen, Texas, with four people dead, including the gunman, and 16 others sustaining injuries.

2013  The Arms Trade Treaty, the first-ever bill to regulate the global trade in conventional weapons, is passed by the U.N. General Assembly.

Arms Trade Treaty:

2012  A mass shooting at Oikos University at Oakland, California, leaves seven people dead and three injured.

2006  Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; Tennessee is hardest hit with 29 people killed.

2004  Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid; the attack is thwarted.

2002  Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated; a siege ensues.

1994  The National Convention of New Sudan of the SPLA/M opens in Chukudum

1992  42 civilians were massacred in the town of Bijeljina.

1992  In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.

1989  Rita Johnston becomes the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeds William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.

1989  Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba, to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.

1986  Alabama governor George Wallace, a former segregationist most widely known for the “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door“, announces that he will not seek a fifth four-year term and will retire from public life upon the end of his term in January 1987.

1985  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1982  Falklands War: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.

Falklands/Malvinas War:

Timelines of Falklands/Malvinas War:

1980  United States President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound.

1975  Construction of the CN Tower is completed in Toronto, Canada. It reaches 553.33 meters (1,815.4 ft.) in height, becoming the world’s tallest free-standing structure.

1975  Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from Quảng Ngãi Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.

Vietnam War in 1975:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

1973  The Liberal Movement breaks away from the Liberal and Country League in South Australia.

Liberal Movement (Australia):

1973  Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.

1972  Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.

Chaplin’s Return to the United States:

1962  The first official panda crossing is opened outside London Waterloo station.

1945  Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Brazil are established.

1930  After the mysterious death of Empress Zewditu, Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.

1921  The Autonomous Government of Khorasan, a military government encompassing the modern state of Iran, is established.

1917  World War I: United States President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.

Declaration of War on Germany by the United States in 1917:

1912  The ill-fated RMS Titanic begins sea trials.

1902  Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.

1900  The United States Congress passes the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.

1885  Cree warriors attack the village of Frog Lake, North-West Territories, Canada, killing nine.

1863  Richmond Bread Riot: Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond, Virginia, and demand that the Confederate government release emergency supplies.

1851  Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand.

1801  Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen: The British capture the Danish fleet.

1800  Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.

Beethoven’s First Symphony:

APRIL 03

2013  More than 50 people die in floods resulting from record-breaking rainfall in La Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2010  Apple Inc. released the first generation iPad, a tablet computer.

2008  Texas law enforcement cordons off the FLDS‘s YFZ Ranch. Eventually 533 women and children will be removed and taken into state custody.

2007  Conventional-Train World Speed Record: A French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line sets an official new world speed record.

2004  Islamic terrorists involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.

2000  United States v. Microsoft Corp.: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust law by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors.

1997  The Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but one of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.

Thalit Massacre:

1996  A United States Air Force airplane carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown crashes in Croatia, killing all 35 on board.

USAF Crash in Croatia of April 1996:

1996  Suspected “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski is captured at his cabin in Montana, United States.

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

1981  The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.

1980  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1974  The 1974 Super Outbreak occurs, the second biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the 2011 Super Outbreak). The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.

1973  Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs, though it took ten years for the DynaTAC 8000X to become the first such phone to be commercially released.

1969  Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to “Vietnamize” the war effort.

Vietnam War in 1969:

Vietnamization:

Ending the US Involvement in the Vietnam War:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

Vietnam War Peace Talks/Negotiations:

1968  Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech.

1961  The Leadbeater’s possum is rediscovered in Australia after 72 years.

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

Soviet Nuclear Tests in 1957:

Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

1948  In Jeju Province, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses begins, known as the Jeju massacre.

Jeju Massacre:

1948  United States President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.

Marshall Plan:

1946  Japanese Lt General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.

Bataan Death March:

Lt General Masaharu Homma, His War Crimes and His Execution:

1942  World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.

1933  First flight over Mount Everest, a British expedition, led by the Marquis of Clydesdale, and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston.

1922  Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Joseph Stalin:

1895  The trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.

1888  The first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurs.

1885  Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for his engine design.

1860  The first successful United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, begins.

1834  The generals in the Greek War of Independence stand trial for treason.

1559  The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars.

__________________________________________

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/march_28   to_april_3; http://www.historyorb.com/events/march/28   to april/3; http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/march_28.html   to april_3.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 28 Mar 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.

If you enjoyed this article, please donate to TMS to join the growing list of TMS Supporters.

Share this article:

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Click here to go to the current weekly digest or pick another article:

HISTORY: