This Week in History

HISTORY, 4 Apr 2016

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

TWH logo history

Apr 4-10

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.

APRIL 04

2013  More than 70 people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India.

2002 The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.

Angolan Civil War:

Angola:

Foreign Relations of Angola:

Angola and the United Nations:

History of Angola:

1996 Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.

1994  Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation.

1984  President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.

International Ban of Chemical Weapons:

1983  Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space.

1981  The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft.

1980  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1979  Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.

1976 Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.

1975  Vietnam War: Operation Babylift: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff killing 172 people.

Vietnam War in 1975:

1975  Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Microsoft and Its History:

1973  A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming.

1973  The World Trade Center in New York is officially dedicated.

World Trade Center and Its History:

1969  Dr Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.

1968  Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6.

1968  Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.:

1967  Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech in New York City’s Riverside Church.

Speech of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Riverside Church, New York, April 4, 1967:

1966  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1965  The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft is unveiled.

1964  The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

1960  France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan.

French Sudan:

French Sudan, Independent as “Mali”:

History of Mali:

Mali:

Foreign Relations of Mali:

Mali and the United Nations:

US – Mali Military Relations/Cooperation:

Economy of Mali:

History of Senegal:

Senegal:

Foreign Relations of Senegal:

Senegal and the United Nations:

Economy of Senegal:

Economy of Senegal:

1958  The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London.

Peace Symbols:

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND):

1949  Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NATO:

History of NATO:

Problems of NATO:

The United States and NATO:

1945  World War II: Soviet troops liberate Hungary from German occupation and occupy the country itself.

Liberation of Hungary in April 1945:

1945  World War II: American troops capture Kassel.

1945  World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.

1944  World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3000 civilians.

1939  Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.

1930  The Communist Party of Panama is founded.

Communist Party of Panama:

History of Panama:

1925  The Schutzstaffel (SS) is founded in Germany.

SS and Its History:

1913  First Balkan War: Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot to die in the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes.

First Balkan War:

Balkan Wars:

1905  In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala.

1887  Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.

1873  The Kennel Club is founded, the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world.

1866  Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg.

1814  Napoleon abdicates for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French.

1812  United States President James Madison enacts a ninety-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.

1796  Georges Cuvier delivers his first paleontological lecture at École Centrale du Pantheon of the National Museum of Natural History on living and fossil remains of elephants and related species, founding the science of Paleontology.

 

 

APRIL 05

2009  North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.

1999  Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.

1998  In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge linking Awaji Island with Honshū and costing about $3.8 billion USD, opens to traffic, becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world.

1994  American musician Kurt Cobain commits suicide.

1992  The Siege of Sarajevo begins when Serb paramilitaries murder peace protesters Suada Dilberović and Olga Sučić on the Vrbanja Bridge.

1992  Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force.

1991  US begins air drops to Kurd refugees in Northern Iraq.

Kurd Refugees of 1991:

1991  An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including Sen. John Tower and Astronaut Sonny Carter.

1986  Three people are killed in the bombing of the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, Germany.

1977  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1976  In the People’s Republic of China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen Incident.

1971  In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) launches a revolt against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

JVP’s Insurrection of 1971:

1969  Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many US cities.

Vietnam War in 1969:

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

1965  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1958  Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time.

Ripple Rock:

1956  In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E. M. S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first Chief Minister.

1956  In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna win the general elections in a landslide and SWRD Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Ceylon.

1956  Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.

Fidel Castro:

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

Foreign Relations of Cuba:

Cuba and USSR/Russia:

Cuba and the United States:

History and Culture of Cuba:

Economy of Cuba:

1951  Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.

1946  Soviet troops leave the island of Bornholm, Denmark after an 11-month occupation.

1945  Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow “temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory”.

Josip Broz Tito:

History of Yugoslavia:

1944  World War II: Two hundred seventy inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.

1943  World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.

1942  World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.

1933  US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates” by U.S. citizens.

1932  Dominion of Newfoundland: Ten thousand rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government.

1932  Alcohol prohibition in Finland ends. Alcohol sales begin in Alko liquor stores.

1923  Firestone Tire and Rubber Company begins production of balloon-tires.

1922  The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.

1900  Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B.

Linear B:

1879  Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.

War of the Pacific:

1847  Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park in Britain, is opened in Birkenhead.

1818  In the Battle of Maipú, Chile‘s independence movement, led by Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín, win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.

Independence War of Chile:

Battle of Maipú:

1804  High Possil meteorite: The first recorded meteorite in Scotland falls in Possil.

 

 

APRIL 06

2012  Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali.

2011  In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 bodies were exhumed from several mass graves made by Los Zetas.

2010  Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.

2008  The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists.

April 2008 Egyptian General Strike:

2005  Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.

1998  Travelers Group announces an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp, and the merger is completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.

Citibank, Citi Group and Their History:

1998  Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.

Pakistan’s Missile Test of 1998:

History of the India-Pakistan Wars:

1994  The Rwandan Genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.

Rwandan Genocide (Overview):

Rwandan Genocide:

Discussions on the Rwandan Genocide:

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda:

Genocide Convention of 1948:

1985  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1984  Members of Cameroon‘s Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.

1982  Estonian Communist Party bureau declares “fight against bourgeois TV”—meaning Finnish TV—a top priority of the propagandists of Estonian SSR

Estonia:

History of Estonia:

Estonia and Communism

1979  Student protests break out in Nepal.

Student Protests of Nepal in 1979:

History of Nepal:

Nepal:

Foreign Relations of Nepal:

Nepal-Britain Relations:

Economy of Nepal:

1974  The Swedish pop band ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Waterloo“, launching their international career.

ABBA and Its History:

1972  Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.

Vietnam War in 1972:

Easter Offensive of 1972:

1970  Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout.

1965  Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.

1962  Leonard Bernstein causes controversy with his remarks from the podium during a New York Philharmonic concert featuring Glenn Gould performing Brahms‘ First Piano Concerto.

Leonard Bernstein and New York Philharmonic Orchestra:

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

Soviet Nuclear Tests (including those performed in 1957):

Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

1955  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Atmospheric Nuclear Tests of the United States and Radioactive Fallout:

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1947  The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.

1945  World War II: The Battle of Slater’s Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end.

Battle of Slater’s Knoll:

1945  World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.

1941  World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).

1930  Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire,” beginning the Salt Satyagraha.

1924  First round-the-world flight commences.

1923  The first Prefects Board in Southeast Asia is formed in Victoria Institution, Malaysia.

1919  Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi orders a general strike.

1917  World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson’s address to Congress).

1911  During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg).

1909  Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reach the North Pole.

1896  In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.

1895  Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.

1869  Celluloid is patented.

1861  First performance of Arthur Sullivan‘s debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

 

 

APRIL 07

2009  Mass protests begin across Moldova under the belief that results from the parliamentary election are fraudulent.

Moldovan Parliamentary Election of 2009:

History of Moldova:

Independence of Moldova:

2009  Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces.

2003  US troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein‘s regime falls two days later.

Timelines of the Iraq War:

2001  Mars Odyssey is launched.

Mars Odyssey:

1999  The World Trade Organization rules in favor of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.

1995  First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.

Samashki Genocide:

First Chechen War:

Chechen Wars:

Russia, Chechnya and Terrorism:

Civilians under International Humanitarian Law:

1994  Auburn Calloway attempts to hijack Federal Express Flight 705 and crash it to allow his family to benefit from his life insurance policy. The crew subdues him and lands the aircraft safely.

1994  Rwandan Genocide: Massacres of Tutsis begin in Kigali, Rwanda.

Rwandan Genocide (Overview):

Rwandan Genocide:

Discussions on the Rwandan Genocide:

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda:

Genocide Convention of 1948:

1992  Republika Srpska announces its independence.

Republika Srpska:

1990  A fire breaks out on the passenger ferry Scandinavian Star, killing 159 people.

1990  Iran–Contra affair: John Poindexter is found guilty of five charges for his part in the scandal (the conviction is later reversed on appeal).

Iran-Contra Affair:

John Poindexter (and Oliver North):

1989  Soviet submarine Komsomolets sinks in the Barents Sea off the coast of Norway killing 42 sailors.

1985  Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declares a moratorium on the deployment of middle-range missiles in Europe.

USSR’s Moratorium on the Deployment of Middle-range Missiles in Europe:

1983  During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.

1980  The United States severs relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

1978  Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by President Jimmy Carter.

1977  German Federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and his driver are shot by two Red Army Faction members while waiting at a red light.

1976  Former British Cabinet Minister John Stonehouse resigns from the Labour Party.

1971  President Richard Nixon announces his decision to increase the rate of American troop withdrawals from Vietnam.

1969  The Internet‘s symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1.

1967  Film critic Roger Ebert published his very first film review in the Chicago Sun-Times.

1966  US recovers lost H-bomb from Mediterranean floor.

1964  IBM announces the System/360.

1956  Spain relinquishes its protectorate in Morocco.

1955  Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.

1954  United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his “domino theory” speech during a news conference.

1948  A Buddhist monastery burns in Shanghai, China, leaving twenty monks dead.

1948  The World Health Organization is established by the United Nations.

World Health Organization and Its History:

1946  Syria‘s independence from France is officially recognized.

Independence of Syria:

Modern History of Syria:

1945  World War II: Visoko is liberated by the 7th, 9th, and 17th Krajina brigades from the Tenth division of Yugoslav Partisan forces.

1945  World War II: The Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship ever constructed, is sunk by American planes 200 miles north of Okinawa while en route to a suicide mission in Operation Ten-Go.

1943  Ioannis Rallis becomes collaborationist Prime Minister of Greece during the Axis Occupation.

1943  The Holocaust: In Terebovlia, Ukraine, Germans order 1,100 Jews to undress to their underwear and march through the city of Terebovlia to the nearby village of Plebanivka where they are shot dead and buried in ditches.

1940  Booker T Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.

1939  World War II: Italy invades Albania.

Italian Invasion of Albania:

History of Albania:

1933  Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the XXI amendment.

1927  First long-distance public television broadcast (from Washington, D.C., to New York City, displaying the image of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover).

1922  Teapot Dome scandal: United States Secretary of the Interior leases Teapot Dome petroleum reserves in Wyoming.

1906  The Algeciras Conference gives France and Spain control over Morocco.

1906  Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.

1868  Thomas D’Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation is assassinated by Irish Republicans, in one of the few Canadian political assassinations, and the only one of a federal politician.

 

 

APRIL 08

2013  The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham

Syrian Civil War Timeline:

Syrian Civil War:

2008  The construction of the world’s first building to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.

2006  Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Ontario, Canada. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.

2005  Over four million people attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

2004  War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.

War in Darfur:

1999  Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.

1993  The Republic of Macedonia (FYR) joins the United Nations.

Macedonia (Republic of/Former Yugoslav Republic of (FYR/FYROM)):

Foreign Relations of Macedonia:

Macedonia and the United Nations

History of Macedonia:

Economy of Macedonia:

1992  Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.

1974  At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth‘s 39-year-old record.

1970  Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.

1968  BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after take off. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.

1964  Gemini 1 (unmanned test flight) launched.

1961  A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.

1960  The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.

1959  The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.

1959  A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.

1953  Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by Kenya‘s British rulers.

1952  US President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills to prevent a nationwide strike.

1950  India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.

Liaquat-Nehru Pact:

1946  Électricité de France, the world’s largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalization of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.

1945  World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.

1943  US President Franklin D Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.

1942  World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.

1942  World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.

Siege of Leningrad:

1935  The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.

1929  Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.

Indian Independence Movement and Its History:

1924  Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk’s Reforms.

1918  World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.

1911  Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.

Superconductivity:

1908  Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.

1906  Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.

Alzheimer’s Disease:

1904  Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.

1904  British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of The Book of the Law.

1904  The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.

1895  In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.

1886  William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.

1866  Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.

1832  Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.

1820  The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.

Venus de Milo:

1808  The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.

1740  War of Jenkins’ Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.

 

 

APRIL 09

2013  An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people.

2009  In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.

2003  Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces; Iraqis turn on symbols of their former leader Saddam Hussein, pulling down a grand statue of him and tearing it to pieces.

1999  Kosovo War: The Battle of Košare begins.

Battle of Košare:

Kosovo War/Conflict:

Independence of Kosovo:

History of Kosovo:

Kosovo Liberation Army:

The United States, NATO and the Kosovo Conflict:

1992  A US Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.

1991  Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union

1989  The April 9 tragedy in Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, an anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strikes, demanding restoration of Georgian independence is dispersed by the Soviet army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

April 9 Tragedy:

1981  The US Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it.

1980  The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.

1975  Eight people in South Korea, who are involved in People’s Revolutionary Party Incident, are hanged.

1969  The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford.

1967  The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.

1965  Astrodome opens. First indoor baseball game is played.

1961  The Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles, once the largest electric railway in the world, ends operations.

1960  Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer called David Pratt in Johannesburg.

1959  Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States’ first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the “Mercury Seven“.

1957  The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping.

Suez Canal:

History of the Suez Canal:

Suez Crisis (1956-1957):

1955  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Atmospheric Nuclear Tests of the United States and Radioactive Fallout:

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1952  Hugo Ballivián‘s government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalisation of tin mines

1948  Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100.

1948  Jorge Eliécer Gaitán‘s assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia known as La violencia.

1947  The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court‘s 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.

1945  The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.

1945  World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.

Battle of Königsberg:

1945  World War II: The German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is sunk by the Royal Air Force.

1942  World War II: The Battle of Bataan/Bataan Death March: United States forces surrender on the Bataan Peninsula. The Japanese Navy launches an air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Royal Australian Navy Destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk off the island’s east coast.

1940  Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.

1940  World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.

Operation Weserübung:

1939  Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial, after being denied the right to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution‘s Constitution Hall.

1918  The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.

1918  World War I: The Battle of the Lys: The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders.

1917  World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.

1916  World War I: The Battle of Verdun: German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.

1914  Mexican Revolution: One of the world’s first naval/air skirmishes takes place off the coast of western Mexico.

1909  The US Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.

1867  Alaska Purchase: Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska.

 

 

APRIL 10

2010  Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of other senior officials

2009  President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces he has abrogated the constitution and assume all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis.

1998  Northern Ireland peace deal reached (Good Friday Agreement).

Good Friday Agreement:

1991  A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.

1991  Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy killing 140.

1988  The Ojhri Camp disaster: Killing more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad as a result of rockets and other munitions expelled by the blast.

1986  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1981  France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island.

Muruora:

History of France Nuclear Tests in the Pacific:

France’s Nuclear Tests:

1973  A British Vickers Vanguard turboprop aircraft crashes in a snowstorm at Basel, Switzerland killing 104 people.

1972  Seventy-four nations sign the Biological Weapons Convention, the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of biological weapons.

1972  Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.

1972  Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu‘s Art of War and Sun Bin‘s lost military treatise, are accidentally discovered by construction workers in Shandong.

1972  Twenty days after he is kidnapped in Buenos Aires, Oberdan Sallustro is murdered by communist guerrillas.

1971  Ping-pong diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People’s Republic of China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a week-long visit.

1968  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1986 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1968  New Zealand inter-island ferry TEV Wahine founders and sinks at the mouth of Wellington Harbour.

1963  One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.

1963  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1986 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1959  Akihito, future Emperor of Japan, marries Michiko.

1957  The Suez Canal is reopened for all shipping after being closed for three months.

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

Soviet Nuclear Tests (including those performed in 1957):

Soviet Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

1953  Warner Bros. premieres the first 3-D film from a major American studio, entitled House of Wax.

1944  Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from the Birkenau death camp.

1941  World War II: The Axis powers in Europe establish the Independent State of Croatia from occupied Yugoslavia with Ante Pavelić‘s Ustaše fascist insurgents in power.

1925  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner’s Sons.

1919  Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.

1912  RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England on her maiden and only voyage.

1907  British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the third and final chapter of The Book of the Law.

1887  On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of The Catholic University of America.

1872  The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.

1868 At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops die.

1866  The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.

1864  Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico.

1858  After the original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonnes (32,000 lb) bell for the Palace of Westminster had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current 13.76 tonnes (30,300 lb) bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

1856  The Theta Chi fraternity is founded at Norwich University in Vermont.

1826  The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town of Missolonghi begin leaving the town after a year’s siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.

1821  Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Ottoman government from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.

1816  The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.

1815  The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth’s climate for the next two years.

1809  Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.

1741  War of the Austrian Succession (10 April 1755 – 2 July 1843): defeat for Austria at Mollwitz on this date.

___________________________________

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_4   to_april_10; http://www.onthisday.com/events/april/4   to april/10; http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/april_4.html   to april_10.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 4 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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