1866 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of St. Petersburg
1900 – Assassination attempt on Prince of Wales, later British King Edward VII when shot by Jean-Baptiste Sipido in protest over Boer war
1917 – US Senate agrees (82-6) to participate in WWI
1938 – 5th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Henry Picard wins his only Masters, 2 strokes ahead of runners-up Harry Cooper and Ralph Guldahl
1958 – The CND Peace Symbol displayed in public for the first time in London
1970 – Firestone World Tournament of Champions won by Don Johnson
1990 – Security law violator Ivan Boesky is released from federal custody
1994 – Largest Opening Day crowd at Yankee Stadium, 56,706
2007 – 15 British Royal Navy personnel held in Iran are released by the Iranian President.
2012 – Boris Tadić, President of Serbia, resigns
Author: gil7
Today in History for 4th April 2020
Historical Events
1900 – British garrison of Reddersberg surrenders to Boer general De Wet
1905 – Earthquake in Kangra India, kills 20,000
1974 – Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth’s home-run record by hitting his 714th
1989 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s last NBA game in Seattle
2005 – 67th NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: North Carolina beats Illinois, 75-70; Tar Heels’ 4th national championship
2019 – US Mormon church pledges to roll back anti-LGBT policies, including not baptizing children of gay parents
Famous Birthdays
1755 – Vincenc Mašek, Bohemian composer, born in Zvíkovec, Czech Republic (d. 1831)
1853 – Tad Lincoln, youngest son of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, born in Springfield, Illinois (d. 1871)
1896 – Tristan Tzara [Samuel Rosenfeld] Romanian-French poet (Approximate Man), born in Moinești, Romania (d. 1963)
1935 – Trevor Griffiths, English playwright (Absolute Beginners), born in Manchester
1958 – Cazuza, Brazilian poet, singer and composer, born in Rio de Janeiro (d. 1990)
1963 – Nigel Preston, British drummer (The Cult), born in Birmingham (d. 1992)
Famous Deaths
1900 – Edward VII, King, assassinated
1944 – Karel Weis, Czech composer and folk song collector, dies at 82
1959 – Stanley Snooke, cricketer (bro of S J, duck in South African Test), dies
1991 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
1992 – Karl Tunberg, US scriptwriter (Ben Hur), dies
2002 – Harry L. O’Connor, Czech film stuntman
Famous Deaths for 3rd April 2020
628 – Chosroes II, emperor of Persia (579..628), murdered by his son
1287 – Honorius IV, [Giacomo Savelli], Italian Pope (1285-87), dies
1581 – Huibert Duifhuis, Roman Catholic pastor (Rotterdam/Utrecht), dies
1747 – Francesco Solimena, Italian painter, dies at 89
1941 – Pal Teleki-von Szek, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920-21, 39-41), committed suicide at 61
1969 – Rex Evans, British actor (Frankenstein meets the Wolfman, Zara, Matchmaker), dies after surgery at 65
1982 – Warren Oates, American actor (Dillinger, East of Eden, Stoney Burke), dies of a heart attack at 53
1994 – Frank G Wells, US company director (Walt Disney Co.), dies in a helicopter crash at 62
2003 – Michael Kelly, American journalist (b. 1957)
2008 – Hrvoje Ćustić, Croatian football player (b. 1983)
Historical Events for 3rd April 2020
1721 – Robert Walpole becomes Britain’s 1st Lord of the Treasury – effective Prime Minister, although that term was never officially used (indeed, it was considered an insult) until much later
1913 – British suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst sentenced to 3 years in jail
1926 – Second flight of a liquid-fueled rocket by Robert Goddard
1949 – KQW-AM in San Francisco CA changes call letters to KCBS
1955 – Baltimore Orioles pull their 1st triple play (3-6-2 vs KC Athletics)
1962 – American jockey Eddie Arcaro retires after 31 years (24,092 races)
1966 – Soviet Luna 10 completes its first orbit of the Moon
1978 – Larry King moves his radio show from Miami to Washington, D.C.
1982 – 136th Grand National: 48 year old Dick Saunders wins aboard 7/1 favourite Grittar; oldest jockey to win the event
2012 – US President Barack Obama officially secures Democratic presidential nomination
Today in History for 3rd April 2020
Historical Events
1935 – Yasuo Ikenada runs world record marathon (2:26:44)
1955 – Baltimore Orioles pull their 1st triple play (3-6-2 vs KC Athletics)
1971 – 125th Grand National: John Cook aboard 28/1 chance Specify wins a close finish between the leading 5 in the final furlong
1989 – 51st NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship: Michigan beats Seton Hall, 80-79 (OT); Wolverines first title; small forward Glen Rice named tournament MOP
1994 – 1st roster of Silver Bullets (all-female pro baseball team) announced
1997 – Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas
Famous Birthdays
1907 – Iron Eyes Cody [Espera Oscar de Corti], Italian-American actor (Keep America Beautiful, Black Gold, Ernest Goes to Camp), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma (d. 1999)
1929 – Dennis Farr, Museum director (Courtauld Institute Galleries) and art historian, born in Luton, Bedfordshire (d. 2006)
1934 – Jim Parker, American football player, NFL guard and tackle (Baltimore Colts), born in Macon, Georgia (d. 2005)
1950 – Curtis Stone, American singer (Highway 101-Cry Cry Cry), born in Hollywood, California
1960 – Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch singer and songwriter, born in Hilversum, Netherlands
1965 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist known as “Queen of Pop” in South Asia, born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan (d. 2000)
Famous Deaths
1822 – Friedrich Bertuch, writer, dies
1826 – Reginald Heber, bishop and hymn writer, dies
1972 – Ferde Grofé American composer (Grand Canyon Suite), dies at 80
1989 – Norman Wooland, German actor (Ivanhoe, Quo Vadis, Hamlet), dies at 79
2007 – Eddie Robinson, American football coach (b. 1919)
2010 – Dusan Radic, Serbian composer, dies at 80