This Day in History
April 2

What happened in history on this day: April 2? On April 2 in ... 742 - Birth of Charlemagne; first Holy Roman emperor (800-14) (dies 814). 999 - Gerbert of Aurillac elected as first French Pope. 1118 - Boudouin I of Bologne/Edessa, first crusader/king of Jerusalem, dies. 1416 - Alfonso V succeeds his father as king of Aragón. 1416 - Ferdinand I the Justified, king of Aragon/Sicily, dies at age 52. 1453 - Mahmed II begins the seige of Constantinople. 1502 - Arthur English crown prince/husband of Catharina of Aragón, dies. 1513 - Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain. 1550 - Jews are expelled from Genoa Italy. 1590 - States-General appoints earl Mauritius, viceroy of Utrecht. 1595 - Cornelis de Houtman's ships depart to Asia through Cape of Good Hope. 1602 - Birth of Maria de Jesus de Agreda [Maria Coronel] Spanish franciscan. 1618 - Birth of Francesco M Grimaldi mathematician/physicist (light defraction). 1628 - Birth of Constantin Christian Dedekind composer. 1632 - Birth of Georg Caspar Weckler composer. 1640 - Matthias C Sarbiewski [Sarbievius], Polish jesuit/poet, dies at age 45. 1645 - Robert Devereux resigns as parliament supreme commander. 1657 - Ferdinand III King of Hungarian/Bohemia/German Emperor, dies at age 48. 1705 - Johann Lohner composer, dies at age 59. 1711 - Birth of Jan Punt Dutch engraver/illustrator/actor (Gideonschool). 1713 - Birth of Onno Zwier van Haren Frisian poet (Fatherland). 1728 - Birth of Franz Asplmayr composer. 1733 - Birth of Giacomo Tritto composer. 1735 - Birth of Christian Gotthilf Tag composer. 1735 - Birth of Franz Volrath Buttstett composer. 1740 - Birth of Armand-Gaston Camus French CEO (Council of 500). 1745 - Austria and Bavaria sign peace. 1747 - Johann J Dillenius German botanist, dies at age 63. 1758 - Johann Balthasar Konig composer, dies at age 67. 1762 - In Bangladesh, a very destructive earthquake occurs. Sixty square miles are said to have been permanently submerged. 1763 - Birth of Giacomo Gotifredo Ferrari composer. 1784 - Pierre Leclair composer, dies at age 74. 1792 - US President George Washington signs the Coinage Act, establishing the US Mint, and authorizes $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle and $2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins and dollar, half dollar, quarter dollar, dime and half-dime silver coins. 1798 - Birth of Hoffmann von Fallersleben writer. 1800 - First performance of Ludwig von Beethoven's first Symphony in C. 1803 - Birth of Franz Paul Lachner composer. 1803 - Hieronymus van Alphen Dutch attorney/poet (church hymns), dies at age 56. 1805 - Birth of Hans Christian Andersen Denmark, author of 150 fairy tales. 1806 - Birth of Giacomo Antonelli Italian cardinal/Assistant Secretary of State for Pius IX. 1814 - Birth of Henry Lewis "Old Rock" Benning Brigadier General (Confederate Army). 1817 - Birth of Teodulo Mabellini composer. 1819 - First successful agricultural journal ("The American Farmer") begins. 1826 - Birth of Philip Dale Roddey Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1897. 1827 - Birth of William Holdman Hunt English painter (Light of the World). 1827 - Joseph Dixon begins manufacturing lead pencils. 1831 - Charles Felix blind King of Sardina (1821-31), dies at age 74. 1833 - Birth of Thomas Howard Ruger Brevet Major General (Union volunteers). 1834 - Birth of Frédéric-Auguste Bertholdi France, sculptor (Statue of Liberty). 1840 - Birth of Émile Zola in France; novelist (Nana, J'Accuse) (dies 1902). 1841 - Birth of Clément Ader French engineer. 1845 - H L Fizeau and J Leon Foucault take first photo of Sun. 1847 - Antonio López de Santa Anna resigns (9th time) as President of Mexico. 1852 - Theodor Althaus writer, dies. 1860 - First Italian Parliament met at Turin. 1862 - Birth of Nicholas Murray Butler US, Columbia University president/pacifist (Nobel Prize 1931). 1863 - Birth of Henry C Van de Velde Flemish painter/architect (Art Nouveau). 1863 - Bread revolt in Richmond Virginia. 1864 - Skirmish at Crump's Hill (Piney Woods), Louisiana. 1864 - Skirmish at Spoonville/Antoine, Arkansas. 1865 - Ambrose Powell Hill, Confederate General, killed in action at age 39. 1865 - Richard Cobden founder Anti-Corn-Law League, dies at age 60. 1865 - Battle of Fort Blakely and Selma, Alabama. 1865 - Battle of Petersburg, Virginia (Fort Gregg, Sutherland's Station). 1865 - CSA President Jefferson Davis flees Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. 1865 - General A P Hill is killed by a Federal Picket. 1865 - Lee's line is broken at Petersberg. 1866 - President Andrew Johnson ends war in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 1868 - Birth of Eduard Jacobs singer/pianist (Dutch cabaret). 1868 - In Ka'u District, Island of Hawaii, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurs. This earthquake caused 77 deaths (tsunami, 46; landslide, 31). 1870 - Victoria Woodhull is first woman to be nominated for US President. 1872 - George B Brayton patents gasoline powered engine. 1872 - Death of Samuel Finley Breese Morse in New York City, New York, USA at age 80; painter, founder and president of the National Academy of Design, inventor of the telegraph. 1875 - Birth of Walter Chrysler founded Chrysler car company. 1876 - Paul van Vlissingen Dutch ship owner, dies at age 78. 1876 - Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Caps play first National League game, in Philadelphia. 1877 - At West's Amphitheatre in London, England, Zazel performs the first human-cannonball circus act. The Cannon is powered by elastic springs. 1877 - First Easter egg roll held on White House lawn. 1877 - Birth of Arnold Schering German musicologist (Humor, Heldentum, Tragik). 1878 - First issue of Rotterdam's Newspaper. 1883 - Battle at Bamako French assault on Fabous arm forces attack. 1884 - London prison for debtors closed. 1890 - Marinus Campbell bibliographer, dies at age 70. 1891 - Birth of Max Ernst Germany, painter/sculptor (founded surrealism). 1892 - Willem J d'Ablaing van Giessenburg Dut baron/genealogist, dies at age 79. 1894 - Birth of Rudolph P Cleveringa Dutch anti-nazi lawyer. 1894 - Birth of Walter Mittelholzer Swiss aviation pioneer (Swiss Air). 1900 - First edition of The Volk published (Amsterdam). 1900 - Birth of Heinrich Besseler German musicologist. 1901 - Birth of Anis Fuleihan composer. 1902 - First motion picture theater opens (Los Angeles CA). 1902 - Birth of Danilo Svara composer. 1902 - Soccer team MVV '02 forms in Maastricht. 1905 - Birth of Edmond Jouhaud General. 1905 - Birth of Kurt Adler therapist/writer. 1905 - Birth of Serge Lifar Kiev, dancer, choreographer (Paris Opéra Ballet). 1905 - Cairo-Capetown railway opens. 1906 - South Africa completes a 4-1 series drubbing of England. 1907 - Birth of Irene Mayer Selznick producer (Street Car Named Desire). 1908 - Birth of Buddy Ebsen Belleville Illinois; actor (Beverly Hillbillies, Barnaby Jones). 1908 - Mills Committee declares baseball was invented by Abner Doubleday. 1909 - Birth of Jean Kurt Forest composer. 1910 - Birth of Arnie Herber NFL quarterback (Green Bay Packers, New York Giants). 1910 - Birth of Joeri German Russian writer. 1910 - Boyd Alexander English explorer (Niger to the Nile), murdered at age 37. 1910 - Friedrich von Bodelschwingh German theologist, dies at age 79. 1911 - Birth of Charles "Honi" Coles tap dancer (Tap). 1912 - Sun Yet Sen forms Guomindang-Party in China. 1912 - Titanic undergoes sea trials under its own power. 1914 - Birth of Sir Alec Guinness [de Cuffe] London England, thespian (Colonel Nicholson-Bridge on River Kwai, Obi-Wan Kenobi-Star Wars, George Smiley-Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). 1915 - Birth of Antony Dornhorst professor of medicine. 1915 - Birth of Arthur Ballard artist. 1916 - German troops overtake Bois de Caillette. 1917 - Birth of Dabbs Greer in Fairview, Missouri, USA; actor (Gunsmoke, Little House on the Prairie). 1917 - Birth of Lou Monte in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, USA; singer ("Peppino the Italian Mouse"). 1917 - Jeanette Rankin becomes first woman member of US House of Representatives, for Montana. 1917 - US President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany. 1919 - Birth of Antoon J Hubben Dutch mayor (Maasbree)/trade union leader. 1919 - Birth of Sir Ian Hunter England, impresario. 1920 - Birth of Jack Webb Santa Monica California; actor (Joe Friday-Dragnet). 1920 - Birth of Lambertus van Straaten geologist (Waddenzee, Rhône-delta). 1921 - Professor Albert Einstein lectures in New York City on his new theory of relativity. 1922 - Birth of Nikolaj G Bassov Russia, atomic physicist (laser, Nobel Prize 1964). 1923 - Birth of Jacob "Jaap" Firet Dutch theologist (Agogisch Moment). 1923 - Birth of Sir Hugh Overton British diplomat. 1924 - Birth of Sir Denis Rooke CEO (British Gas). 1925 - Birth of George MacDonald Fraser poet/author (Flashman at the Charge). 1926 - Birth of Elena Verdugo Hollywood California, actress (Consuelo-Marcus Welby M.D.). 1926 - Birth of Michael Rizzello sculpter/coin designer. 1926 - Riots between Muslims and Hindus in Calcutta. 1927 - Birth of Billy Pierce pitcher (Chicago White Sox) seven time all star. 1928 - Birth of Joseph "Cardinal" Bernardin of Chicago. 1928 - Birth of Rita Gam Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, actress (Distortions, Hannibal, Sierra Baron, Mohawk). 1928 - Birth of Serge Gainsbourg [Ginsburg] Russian/French singer (Ford Mustang). 1928 - Theodore Richards US chemist (atomic weight, Nobel Prize 1914), dies. 1929 - Birth of Catherine Gaskin romantic novelist (Fiona, Coporation Wife). 1929 - Birth of Frans HJJ Andriessen Dutch Member of Parliament (KVP/CDA). 1930 - First New York-Bermuda airplane flight lands in Bermuda. 1930 - Birth of Girolamo Arriego composer. 1930 - Birth of W Hambleden Smith English newspaper magnate. 1931 - Birth of Imre Olsvai composer. 1931 - Teenage girl strikes out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in an exhibition game in Chattanooga Tennessee. 1932 - Birth of Mahmood Hussain Pakistani cricket swing bowler (68 wickets in 27 Tests). 1932 - Charles Lindbergh turns over $50,000 as ransom for kidnapped son. 1932 - Hugo Kaun composer, dies at age 69. 1933 - K S Ranjitsinhji cricket player (989 Test runs, first-class average 56), dies. 1934 - Birth of Brian Glover actor (McGuffin). 1934 - Birth of Christopher France British permanent secretary (Department of Health). 1934 - Birth of Diane Cilento Rabaul, actress (Hombre, Tom Jones, Wicker Man). 1934 - Birth of Sir Peter Middleton British permanent secretary (Treasury). 1935 - Birth of Sharon Acker Toronto Ontario Canada, actress (Della Street-Perry Mason 1973). 1935 - Mary Hirsch, becomes first woman licensed as a horse trainer. 1935 - Sir Watson-Watt patents RADAR. 1936 - Birth of Jack Brabham Australia, race car driver (world champion 1966). 1937 - Birth of Paul E Kanjorski (Representative-Democrat-Pennsylvania, 1985-). 1937 - Nathan Birnbaum Austria philosopher (Zionism), dies at about age 72. 1938 - Alice Berend writer, dies. 1939 - 6th Golf Masters Championship: Ralph Guldahl wins, shooting a 279. 1939 - Birth of Marvin P Gaye Jr Washington DC, singer (Sexual Healing). 1940 - Birth of Penelope Keith British actress (Norman Conquests, Priest of Love). 1940 - Birth of Peter Haining writer/editor (Anatomy of Witchcraft). 1940 - Walt Disney Productions first offers shares in the company to the public. 155,000 shares of preferred stock are offered at US$25 per share, and 600,000 of common stock for US$5 per share. US$3.5 million is raised from the stock offering. 1941 - Birth of Leon Russell Lawton Kansas, pianist/singer (Carny). 1941 - German occupier disallows Dutch scouting association. 1941 - Paul Teleki premier Hungary, dies. 1941 - USS Hornet with Jimmy Doolittles B-25 departs from San Francisco. 1941 - Hungarian Prime Minister Count Teleki kills himself, rather than agree to Adolf Hitler's demand to allow passage of German troops to Yugoslavia. However, the Hungarian Chief of General Staff accedes to the demand. 1942 - Birth of Graham Bright private secretary to British Prime Minister. 1943 - Birth of Glen Dale [Richard Garforth] rock vocalist (Fortunes Deal). 1943 - Birth of Larry Coryell Galveston Texas, jazz guitarist (11th House). 1944 - CPI-leader Palmiro Togliatti returns to Italy. 1944 - Mikulas Moyzes, composer, dies at age 71. 1944 - Soviet Army marches into pro-German Romania. 1945 - First US units reach east coast of Okinawa, Japan. 1945 - Birth of Don Sutton; baseball pitcher (Los Angeles Dodgers). 1945 - Birth of Linda Hunt in Morristown, New Jersey, USA; actress (Bostonians, Eleni, Silverado). 1945 - Birth of Lord Skelmersdale; British minister (Conservative). 1946 - Birth of Kurt Winter; rocker (The Guess Who). 1946 - Birth of Lynda Carr; educationist. 1946 - Birth of Richard Collinge; cricket player (New Zealand record wicket-taker (116) before Hadlee). 1947 - Birth of Camille Paglia in Endicott, New York, USA; actress (Female Misbehavior, It's Pat). 1947 - Birth of Emmylou Harris in Birmingham, Alabama, USA; country singer (Together Again). 1947 - Joseph Hardstaff, cricket player (311 runs in five Tests for England 1907-08), dies. 1948 - Birth of Eleanor Margaret Burbridge; astronomer/educator. 1948 - Birth of Joan [Carol] D[ennison] Vinge; American sci-fi author (two Hugo awards, Dune, Tangled Up In Blue, The Snow Queen, Catspaw). 1948 - Birth of Kerry Minnear; rocker (Gentle Giant). 1948 - Birth of Marlene Floyd; LPGA golfer. 1949 - Birth of Pamela Reed in Tacoma, Washington, USA; actress (Grand, Kindergarten Cop, Home Court). 1949 - Birth of Paul Gambaccini; British disc jockey. 1951 - Birth of Ayako Okamoto in Hiroshima, Japan; LPGA golfer (1990 Sara Lee). 1951 - Simon Barere, pianist, dies while perfoming at Carnegie Hall. 1952 - Bernard F Lyot, French astronomer (chronograph, Lyot-filter), dies at age 55. 1952 - Birth of Dan Halldorson in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Canadian Tour golfer (1985 World Cup). 1952 - Birth of Joseph Kent Massey in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; soling yachter (Olympics-bronze-1996). 1952 - Birth of Leon Wilkerson; rocker (Lynard Skynard). 1953 - Birth of David Robinson; drummer (The Cars). 1953 - Birth of Debralee Scott in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA; actress (Cathy - Mary Hartman, Angie). 1953 - Jean Epstein, French director (Vive la Vie), dies at age 56. 1953 - Raab forms his first government in Austria. 1954 - Birth of Ron Palillo in Cheshire, Connecticut, USA; actor (Arnold Horshack - Welcome Back Kotter). 1954 - Disney and ABC hold a joint press conference, announcing their agreement for the Disney TV show (Disneyland). 1955 - Pancho Gonzales retains tennis title by winning a tournament playing under table tennis rules. 1955 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright. 1955 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Hayes A Jenkins. 1956 - Albert de Bassompierre, Belgium ambassador to Tokyo, Japan, dies at age 82. 1956 - Birth of Farrukh Zaman; lefty cricket spinner (bowled ten overs, Pakistan versus New Zealand 1976). 1956 - Chester Clute, actor (Niagara Falls), dies at age 65. 1956 - Philippo de Pisis, Italian painter, dies at age 59. 1956 - Soap operas As the World Turns and Edge of Night premiere on TV. 1958 - Antillean Brewery (Amstel beer) opens. 1958 - American National Advisory Council on Aeronautics renamed NASA. 1958 - Wind speed reaches 450 kph in tornado in Wichita Falls, Texas, USA (record). 1959 - Benjamin Christensen, Danish actor (Barnet, Mockery), dies at age 79. 1959 - Birth of Adrian Meagher; Australian baseball pitching coach (Olympics-1996). 1959 - Birth of Brian Goodell; American 400 metre/1500 metre freestyle swimmer (Olympics-2 gold-1976). 1959 - Birth of Carmen Ayala-Troncoso in New York City, New York, USA; 5K runner. 1959 - Birth of Dean Townson in Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA; singer (Pirates of the Mississippi - Fred Jake). 1959 - Birth of Gelindo Bordin; Italian marathon runner (Olympics-gold-1988). 1959 - Birth of Ken Macleay; cricket player (at Bedford-on-Avon Australian ODI medium pacer). 1960 - Birth of Linford Christie in Saint Andrews, Jamaica; 4x100 metre runner (Olympics-gold 1992). 1961 - August Defresne, Dutch director (Anno Christi 969), dies at age 67. 1961 - Birth of Cindy Mackey in Athens, Georgia, USA; LPGA golfer (1986 MasterCard International Pro-Am). 1961 - Birth of Gijs Steinmann; Dutch soccer player (Go Ahead Eagles). 1961 - Birth of Keren Jane Woodward in Bristol, England; rock vocalist (Bananarama - "Venus"). 1961 - Wallingford Riegger, US composer (Bacchangle), dies at age 75. 1962 - Birth of Alex Tripolski in Israel; Men's Shooting 50 metre air pistol (Olympics-16th-1996). 1962 - Birth of Billy Dean in Quincy, Florida, USA; country singer (Billy the Kid). 1962 - Birth of Bruce Kozerski; NFL tackle/guard (Cincinnati Bengals). 1963 - Birth of Dermot Reeve in England; cricket player (in Hong Kong England all-rounder 1992). 1963 - Explorer 17 attains Earth orbit (254/914 km). 1963 - USSR launches Luna 4; misses Moon by 8,500 km. 1964 - Birth of Pete Incaviglia in Pebble Beach, California, USA; outfielder (Philadelphia Phillies). 1964 - Josef Klaus succeeds Alfons Gorbach as chancellor of Austria. 1964 - Military coup in Brazil by General Castello Branco, President Goulart ousted. 1964 - USSR launches Zond 1 to Venus; no data returned. 1965 - Renzo Bossi, composer, dies at age 81. 1966 - Birth of Andrei Kovalev; NHL forward (Belarus, Olympics-1998). 1966 - Birth of Bill Romanowski; NFL linebacker (Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32). 1966 - Birth of Willie Green; NFL wide receiver (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32). 1966 - Cecil Scott Forester, English author (Horatio Hornblower), dies at age 66. 1966 - Soviet Union's Luna 10 becomes first spacecraft to orbit Moon. 1967 - Actress Lynn Redgrave marries John Clark. 1967 - Susie Maxwell wins LPGA Louise Suggs Golf Invitational. 1968 - The Beatles form Python Music Ltd. 1968 - Chad creates Union of Central African States. 1968 - Senator Eugene McCarthy wins Democratic primaries in Wisconsin. 1969 - Birth of Yj Nagata [Yuji]; wrestler (NJPW). 1969 - Fortunio Bonanova, actor (My Best Gal, Havana Rose), dies at age 74. 1969 - Milwaukee Bucks sign Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor). 1970 - The 52nd Annual New York Automobile Show is held in New York, USA. Chevrolet unveils the experimental transverse mid-engined XP-882 Corvette prototype. Ford shows its Pantera, and American Motors shows its AMX/3, both mid-engine prototypes. 1970 - Two men begin ascent of south face of Annapurna I, the highest final stage in a wall climb in the world. 1970 - Birth of Jerry Reynolds; NFL guard/tackle (New York Giants). 1970 - Birth of Jon Lieber in Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA; pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates). 1970 - Birth of Marcus Christensen in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; figure skater (1995 Canadian-second). 1970 - Birth of Tammi Reiss; WNBA guard (Utah Starzz). 1970 - Meghalaya becomes autonomous state within India's Assam state. 1970 - Qatar gains independence from Britain. 1971 - Birth of James Ransom in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Epee fencer (Olympics-1996). 1971 - Birth of Jenny Craig; Miss Georgia-USA (1996). 1971 - Birth of Todd Woodbridge in Sydney, Australia; tennis star (1995 doubles Wimbledon). 1971 - Sci-fi soap opera Dark Shadows concludes an almost five year run. 1972 - 44th Academy Awards - French Connection, Gene Hackman and Jane Fonda win. 1972 - Birth of Graham Hood in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; 1.5k runner (Olympics-1992, 1996). 1972 - Gil Hodges, manager (New York Mets), dies of heart attack at age 57. 1972 - Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin visits Cairo, Egypt. 1973 - CBS radio begins on-hour news 24 hours a day. 1973 - International Telephone And Telegraph pleads guilty to asking US Central Intelligence Agency to affect Chilean presidential election. 1974 - 46th Academy Awards - The Sting, Glenda Jackson and Jack Lemmon win. 1974 - Arganat Committee publishes report concerning Yom Kippur War. 1974 - Douglass Dumbrille, actor (Mr Deed Goes to Town), dies at age 84. 1974 - Georges Pompidou, French President, dies in Paris at age 62. 1974 - Tony Greig takes 8-86 versus West Indies Port-of-Spain (later 5-70 in second inning). 1975 - Birth of Deedee Magno; rocker (Party-Rodeo, That's Why). 1976 - Oakland Athletics trade prospective free agents Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman to Baltimore Orioles for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell. 1976 - Cambodia's Khieu Sampan succeeds prince Sihanouk as premier. 1976 - Portuguese constitution assumed. 1976 - Ray Teal, actor (Sheriff Roy Coffee - Bonanza), dies at age 74. 1977 - Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" album goes to number 1 and stays number 1 for 31 weeks. 1977 - Montreal Canadiens set NHL record of 34 straight home games without a loss. 1978 - 7th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Sandra Post. 1978 - Basil Williams scores 100 on Test Cricket debut, versus Australia Georgetown. 1978 - TV show Dallas premieres on CBS (as a five week mini-series). 1978 - Velcro is first put on the market. 1979 - Carroll D Rosenbloom, Los Angeles Rams' president, dies at age 72. 1979 - Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin visits Cairo, Egypt; meets President Anwar Sadat. 1979 - Ivan Barrow, cricket player (11 Tests for West Indies 1930-39), dies. 1980 - The St. Pauls riot breaks out in Bristol. 1980 - Dick Howorth, cricket player (England slow lefty all-rounder late 1940s), dies. 1980 - Wayne Gretzky becomes first teenager to score 50 goals in a season. 1981 - Belgium's fourth government of Martens resigns. 1981 - Heavy battle between Christian militia and Syrian army in East Lebanon. 1981 - Birth of Bethany Joy Lenz; American actress and singer. 1982 - In exhibition game Oakland Athletics' pitcher Steve McCatty comes to bat using a 15-inch toy bat (under Billy Martin's orders), protesting disallowing of designated hitter. 1982 - Several thousand Argentine troops seize the disputed Falkland (Malvinas) Islands. 1983 - Birth of Yung Joc; American rapper. 1984 - 46th NCAA Mens Basketball Championship: Georgetown beats Houston 84-75. 1984 - Soyuz T-11 carries three cosmonauts (one Indian-Rakesh Sharma) to Salyut 7. 1985 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site. 1986 - Four US passengers killed by bomb at Trans World Airlines counter in Athens Airport, Greece. 1986 - NCAA adopts 3-point basketball rule (19 feet 9 inch distance). 1987 - Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer/orchestra leader (Away We Go), dies at age 69 (born 1917). 1987 - IBM announces its new Personal System/2 computers, with VGA 256-color graphics, Micro Channel Architecture, Operating System/2, and 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy disk drive. 1987 - Death of Trevor Hockey, Welsh football player (born 1943). 1988 - Simply Majestic sets horse racing's 1-1/8 mile record at 1:45. 1988 - Test Cricket debut of Curtly Ambrose, West Indies versus Pakistan, Georgetown. 1989 - 18th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Juli Inkster. 1989 - 8th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Tennessee beats Auburn 76-60. 1989 - In WrestleMania V at Trump Plaza, Hulk Hogan defeats Randy "Macho Man" Savage to become the WWF Champion. 1989 - New York Yankees beat New York Mets 4-0, sweeping 1989 mayor's trophy series in two games. 1990 - 52nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Nevada-Las Vegas beats Duke 103-73. 1990 - Aldo Fabrizi, actor (Postman Goes to War, Open City), dies at age 85. 1992 - Edith Cresson, France's first female premier, resigns. 1992 - In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of the murder of mob boss Paul Castellano and racketeering, and is later sentenced to life in prison. 1992 - Paula Kelly, singer/actress (Sweet Charity), dies at age 72. 1992 - Space Shuttle STS-45 (Atlantis 11) lands. 1993 - First test flight of Fokker 70 (Amsterdam). 1993 - Eugenie Leontovitch, actress (Four Sons, Homicidal), dies at age 93. 1993 - Klaas Schenk, Dutch speed skater/coach/father of Ard, dies at age 86. 1993 - Venezuelan DC-10 crashes at Margarita, killing 10. 1993 - Philip Morris announces it would slash price of Marlboro cigarettes by 20 percent to better compete with bargain brands. Stock prices of companies of household brands drop dramatically. Many consider all brand names are dead. Marketers call this "Marlboro Friday". 1994 - First exhibition game played at Jacobs Field, Pittsburgh Pirates beat Cleveland Indians, 6-4. 1994 - Richard Davies, actor (Private Buckaroo), dies of heart attack at age 79. 1994 - Death of Betty Furness, American actress, author, and consumer advocate at age 78 (born 1916). 1995 - 14th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: University of Connecticut Huskies beats Tennessee 70-64. 1995 - 7th Seniors Golf Tradition: Jack Nicklaus. 1995 - An explosion in Gaza kills eight, including a Hamas leader. 1995 - Hannes Alfven, Swedish physicist (Nobel Prize), dies at age 86 (born 1908). 1995 - Harvey Penick, American premier golf instructor/author, dies at age 90 (born 1904). 1995 - Julius Arthur Hemphill, saxophonist, dies at age 57. 1995 - New York Police Department and New York Transit Police merge into one organization. 1995 - Major League Baseball owners accept baseball players' return-to-work proposal, agree to delay start of season until April 26. 1995 - Wrestlemania XI in Connecticut: Lawrence Taylor defeats Bam Bam Bigelow. 1996 - Sri Lanka 9-349 in 50 overs beat Pakistan 315 all out, Singapore; Jayasuriya hits ton in 48 balls, world ODI record at Singapore. 1996 - Detroit Tigers' slugger Cecil Fielder steals first base in 1,097th career game. 1996 - U.S. Mafioso John Gotti is found guilty of murdering Paul Castellano. 1997 - Chicago White Sox agree to pay Albert Belle US$10 million for the season. 1997 - Tomoyuki Tanaka, producer (Godzilla), dies of a stroke at age 86. 1997 - The WB Network premieres the Disney TV show Smart Guy. 1997 - The mayor of New York City, the governor of New York state, and Michael Eisner unveil the restored New Amsterdam theater in New York City. 1998 - World Mens Figure Skating Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Russian Alexei Yagudin wins. 2002 - Israeli forces besiege the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, when militants take shelter there. 2003 - Todd Zeile becomes the only major league player to hit a home run for ten different teams: New York Yankees, Detroit Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, and Colorado Rockies. 2003 - The World Health Organization issues its first ever travel alert, due to the SARS outbreak, advising travellers to avoid Hong Kong and Guangdong province of China. 2004 - Microsoft and Sun Microsystems settle long-standing hostilities in signing a ten-year technology sharing agreement. Microsoft pays Sun close to $2 billion to settle past issues and for royalty payments. 2005 - Pope John Paul II dies at his home in the Vatican, following complications from the flu. 2006 - Death of Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, German wife of soldier Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (born 1913). 2007 - New Century, a large American mortgage lender, files for bankruptcy protection. 2007 - The Solomon Islands is shaken by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake, and hit by a subsequent tsunami. 2007 - Smoke ban in enclosed places in Wales. 2007 - Death of Henry Lee Giclas, American astronomer (born 1910). 2008 - Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahein announces his resignation, effective May 6. 2008 - At the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, China, Intel introduces the low-power Atom microprocessor, in speeds up to 1.86 GHz. 2008 - Liam Tancock of Exeter, England, sets new world record 50m backstroke of 24.47 seconds, at Pond's Forge, Sheffield, England. 2009 - In his closing news conference of the G20 summit in London, England, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announces the member nations will inject US$1 trillion into the world economy in an effort to curb the global financial crisis. 2009 - The U.S. House of Representatives passes a federal budget for fiscal 2010 starting October 1, voting 233-196 to pass the US$3.45 trillion budget. 2009 - Cunard opens worldwide sales of the October 2010 Maiden Voyage for new ocean liner Queen Elizabeth, and sells out in a record 29 minutes. You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history. Bookmark this URL:   http://thisdayinhistoryinfo.info/   and revisit each day. (this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events) Or, visit my Timelines of History page. Other web pages of interest: Chronology of World History Chronology of World War II Chronology of Personal Computers