1856 – Russian Chancellor Count Nesselrode resigns
1916 – US Secretary of State Warns Germany that the USA may break diplomatic relations unless torpedo attacks on unarmed ships stop
1938 – Headless Mad Butcher victim found in Cleveland
1968 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 – US Government ends Mandatory Oil Import Program, established in 1959 by President Eisenhower
1990 – Supreme Court rules states could make it a crime to possess or look at child pornography, even in one’s home
1991 – John Stockton breaks his own NBA season assist record at 1,136
1994 – Lebanon drops relations with Iran
1994 – STS-59 (Endeavour) lands [approx]
2014 – 12 Nepalese climbers are killed by an avalanche on Mt Everest
Author: gil7
Today in History for 18th April 2021
Historical Events
1874 – David Livingstone, African explorer, buried in Westminster Abbey
1921 – Philip James Barry’s “Punch for Judy” premieres in NYC
1950 – 1st opening night-game, Cards beat Pirates, 4-2
1977 – Alex Haley author of “Roots” awarded Pulitzer Prize
1979 – Major Haddad declares South-Lebanon independent
2007 – The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision
Famous Birthdays
1786 – Franz Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee, Swiss composer, born in Lucerne, Switzerland (d. 1868)
1875 – Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, Croatian writer (The Brave Adventures of Lapitch), born in Ogulin, Croatian Military Frontier, Austria-Hungary (d. 1938)
1913 – Kent Kennan, American composer, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2003)
1926 – Günter Meisner, German actor (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Between Wars, Adolf Hitler, Quiller Memorandum), born in Bremen, Weimar Republic (d. 1994)
1934 – James Drury, American actor (The Virginian), born in NYC, New York (d. 2020)
1965 – Rob Stenders, Dutch radio discjockey (Stenders Latevermaak and RobRadio), born in Oisterwijk, Netherlands
Famous Deaths
1853 – William R. King, American politician (Vice President 1853), dies at 67 one month after his inauguration
1921 – Earnest [Bachigaloupi] Tourniaire, Dutch actor (Inkwartiering, Kloris and Roses), dies at 70
1963 – Meyer Jacobstein, American politician, dies at 83
1967 – Karl Miller, German soccer defender (12 caps; Dresdner SC), dies at 53
2002 – Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and professional wrestler, dies at 63
2011 – Olubayo Adefemi, Nigerian footballer, dies at 25
Famous Deaths for 17th April 2021
1272 – Zita, Italian maid and saint from Lucca, dies at about 59
1790 – Benjamin Franklin, US Founding Father, inventor, ambassador and writer (Poor Richards Almanac), dies at 84
1799 – Richard Jupp, English architect (East India House) (b. 1728)
1882 – George Jennings, English sanitary engineer (invented first public flush toilets), dies at 71
1948 – Percy Sherwell, South African cricketer (South African captain in 13 Tests 1905-11), dies at 67
1967 – Giorgio Cesana, Italian coxswain (Olympic gold 1906), dies at 75
1988 – Louise Nevelson, American sculptor (featured at the 31st Venice Biennale), dies of brain tumor at 88
1995 – Nancy Mayhew Youngman, English painter and educationalist, dies at 88
2012 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer, dies from a heart attack at 64
2013 – Deanna Durbin [Edna Mae Durbin], Canadian actress and vocalist (Every Sunday, Three Smart Girls, 100 Men and a Girl), dies at 91
Historical Events for 17th April 2021
1865 – Mary Surratt is arrested as a conspirator in Abraham’ Lincoln’s assassination
1907 – Ellis Island, New York records 11,745 immigrants
1945 – Benito Mussolini flees from Salò to Milan
1947 – Jackie Robinson bunts for his 1st major league hit
1969 – People’s Democracy activist Bernadette Devlin becomes the youngest woman Member of Parliament ever elected to Westminster at 21 years old
1979 – Brian Clark’s “Whose Life is it Anyway?” premieres in London
1983 – India entered space age launching SLV-3 rocket
1986 – Netherlands and Scilly Islands sign peace treaty (war of 1651)
2014 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika wins a fourth term as President of Algeria
2019 – Beyoncé releases a live album of her 2018 Coachella performance on the same day as her Netflix documentary “Homecoming”
Today in History for 17th April 2021
Historical Events
1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, one of the largest invasions of Spanish territories in America
1905 – 9th Boston Marathon won by Fred Lorz in 2:38:25.4
1964 – “Cafe Crown” opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 3 performances
1966 – 100th international soccer match between Netherlands and Belgium (3-1)
1970 – Paul McCartney’s 1st solo album “McCartney” is released
2019 – Beyoncé releases a live album of her 2018 Coachella performance on the same day as her Netflix documentary “Homecoming”
Famous Birthdays
1902 – Anton Beuving, Dutch lyricist (Ketelbinkie), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands d. 1977)
1918 – William Holden [Beedle], American actor (The Blue Knight, Sunset Boulevard, Sabrina, The Bridge on the River Kwai), born in O’Fallon, Illinois (d. 1981)
1931 – Joyce Molyneux, British chef and author
1948 – Jan Hammer, Czech-American composer (Escape from TV, Miami Vice), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
1966 – Vikram [Kennedy John Victor], Indian actor (I), born in Madras, Tamil Nadu
1988 – Takahiro Moriuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter and musician (One Ok Rock), born in Tokyo, Japan
Famous Deaths
1427 – John IV, Duke of Brabant, dies at 23
1696 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, French writer (b. 1626)
1799 – Richard Jupp, English architect (East India House) (b. 1728)
1967 – Giorgio Cesana, Italian coxswain (Olympic gold 1906), dies at 75
1985 – Ilona Bodden, writer, dies
1989 – Charles Lampkin, dies
Famous Deaths for 16th April 2021
1645 – Tobias Hume, Scottish composer (The First Part of Ayres), dies
1850 – Marie Tussaud, French founder of Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, dies at 88
1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, French saint (saw Virgin Mary at Lourdes), dies from tuberculosis at 35 in Nevers, France
1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, dies at 73
1924 – Jack Board, English cricket wicket-keeper (Eng in 6 Tests 1898-1906), dies at 57
1958 – Rosalind Franklin, English chemist and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, dies of ovarian cancer at 37
1970 – Richard Neutra, American architect (b. 1892)
2007 – Kevin Granata, American professor of Engineering (b. 1961)
2010 – Marion Ladewig, American ten-pin bowler (9 time woman bowler of year 1950-63), dies at 95
2020 – Luis Sepúlveda, Chilean writer and political activist (The Old Man Who Read Love Stories), dies of COVID-19 at 70
Historical Events for 16th April 2021
1789 – George Washington heads for 1st presidential inauguration
1862 – Slavery abolished in District of Columbia
1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes 1st woman pilot to fly across English Channel
1952 – “4 Saints in 3 Acts” opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 15 performances
1953 – British royal yacht Britannia launched by Queen Elizabeth II
1957 – Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Dickie Moore has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 5-1 for a 4-1 series victory
1987 – British Conservative MP Harvey Proctor appears at Bow Street Magistrates’ Court in London charged with gross indecency
1987 – Peter Taylor’s “Summons to Memphis” wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction
2003 – Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union
2020 – New study claims a multi-decade megadrought is already under way in the western US, published in journal “Science”
Today in History for 16th April 2021
Historical Events
1521 – Martin Luther arrives at the Diet of Worms assembly
1948 – Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris
1980 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1987 – Michael Jordan becomes the second NBA player in history to score 3000 points in a season
2013 – 37 people are killed by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Khash country, Iran
2014 – South Korean ferry MV Sewol sinks on route Incheon to Jeju, 304 drown, mostly students. National controversy erupts over rescue efforts and actions of crew and owner.
Famous Birthdays
1915 – Gerard McLarnon, British-Irish actor and writer (The Wrestler’s Honeymoon), born in Clitheroe, Lancashire (d. 1997)
1931 – Piet de Visser, Dutch politician (PvdA), born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 2012)
1964 – Dave Pirner, American rocker (Soul Asylum), born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1974 – Xu Jinglei, Chinese actress, singer and director, born in Beijing, China
1974 – Mat Devine, American singer (Kill Hannah), born in Norwalk, Connecticut
1984 – Claire Foy, English Actress (The Crown), born in Stockport, England
Famous Deaths
1865 – Robert C. Tyler, US Confederate brigadier general, dies during the Battle of West Point, at 32
1929 – Abraham van Stolk Jzn, Dutch art collector, dies at 57
1968 – Edna Ferber, American author and playwright (American Beauty, Cimarron), dies at 82
1988 – Warde Donovan, dies at 72
1992 – Andy Russell, American drummer and vocalist (Your Hit Parade), dies of stroke at 72
2019 – Jörg Wolfgang Demus, Austrian classical pianist and composer, dies at 90
Famous Deaths for 15th April 2021
1472 – Leon B. Alberti, Italian humanist and architect (Philodoxis), dies at 68
1632 – George Calvert, English politician and coloniser, dies at 52
1912 – William T. Stead, British newspaper editor (The Pall Mall Gazette), dies in the sinking of the Titanic at 62
1919 – Jane Delano, American nurse and educator (Red Cross Nursing Service during WWI), dies at 57
1926 – Frank Iredale, Australian cricketer (14 Tests for Aust, 807 runs at 36 68), dies at 58
1966 – Joseph Crehan, American actor (The Roaring Twenties, Meeting at Midnight), dies of stroke at 82
1974 – Giovanni D’Anzi, Italian songwriter, dies at 68
1984 – Machito, Latin jazz musician and creator of Cubop and salsa music (Afro-Cubans), dies following a stroke at 76
2001 – John Verrall, American composer, dies at 92
2011 – Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian peace activist, dies at 36
Historical Events for 15th April 2021
1776 – Duchess of Kingston found guilty of bigamy
1902 – Russian minister of interior and head of secret police, Sipyengin, is assassinated by the ‘Terror Brigade’ of the Socialist Revolutionaries
1911 – Jack Lawrence Theater (Playhouse) opens at 137 W 48th St NYC
1945 – Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical “Communium Interpretes Dolorum”
1957 – KTVI TV channel 2 in Saint Louis, MO (ABC) begins broadcasting
1986 – US air raids Libya, responding to La Belle disco, Berlin bombing
1987 – “Barbara Cook: A Concert” opens at Ambassador NYC for 13 performances
1997 – Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Charlotte NC on WXRC 95.7 FM
2019 – Aretha Franklin posthumously receives the Pulitzer Prize Special Citation honor, first individual woman to win it since 1930
2020 – South Korea is 1st country to hold a general election under COVID-19, President Moon Jae-in’s ruling Democratic party wins in a landslide