It happened today – this day in history – April 8
- It happened today – this day in history – May 6 - 06/05/2021
- It happened today – this day in history – May 5 - 05/05/2021
- It happened today – this day in history – May 4 - 04/05/2021
217AD: Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated.
1455: Alfonso de Borgia is elected Pope Callistus III.
1759: British troops chase the French out of Masulipatam, India.
1781: Premiere of Mozart’s violin sonata
1783: Catherine II of Russia annexes the Crimea.
1820: The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
1838: The steamship “Great Western” makes her maiden voyage from Bristol to New York.
1866: Italy and Prussia become allies against Austria-Hungary.
1879: Milk is sold in glass bottles for the first time.
1886: Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the House of Commons.
1898: Anglo-Egyptian forces crush 6,000 Sudanese at the Battle of Atbara River.
1904: Britain and France establish their Entente Cordiale, a technical treaty settling long-standing disagreements over Morocco, Egypt, Africa, and the Pacific.
1908: Herbert Asquith succeeds Henry Campbell-Bannerman as Prime Minister.
1935: Bartok’s 5th String quartet premieres in Washington D.C.
1940: German battle cruisers sink British aircraft carrier Glorious.
1941: Joe Louis TKOs Tony Musto in Round 9 for the heavyweight boxing title
1946: The League of Nations assembles for the last time.
1953: Jomo Kenyatta, chairman of the Kenya African Union, is sentenced to seven years hard labour accused of playing a leading role in the Mau Mau movement.
1964: The Supremes record Where Did Our Love Go at Motown studios in Detroit.
1967: Sandie Shaw becomes the first British woman to win the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Puppet On A String in Vienna. On the same day, John Buckingham aboard rank 100/1 outsider Foinavon avoids famous pile up at Beachers Brook to win the Grand National.
1973: Artist Pablo Picasso dies from a heart attack.
1977: Israeli premier Yitzhak Rabin resigns.
1979: Singles chart:
- Bright Eyes – Art Garfunkel
- Cool For Cats – Squeeze
- Some Girls – Smokie
- In The Navy – Village People
- I Will Survive – Gloria Gaynor
- He’s The Greatest Dancer – Sister Sledge
- Who Killed Bambi? – The Sex Pistols
- Sultans Of Swing – Dire Straits
- Shake Your Body – The Jacksons
- The Runner – The Three Degrees
Album chart:
- Greatest Hits Vol II – Barbra Streisand
- The Very Best Of – Leo Sayer
- C’est Chic – Chic
- Spirits Having Flown – The Bee Gees
- Manilow Magic – Barry Manilow
- Breakfast In America – Supertramp
- Dire Straits – Dire Sraits
- Parallel Lines – Blondie
- Armed Forces – Elvis Costello and the Attractions
- A Collection Of Their 20 Greatest Hits – The Three Degrees
1983: Illusionist David Copperfield makes the Statue of Liberty disappear.
1985: India files suit against Union Carbide over the Bhopal disaster.
1986: Residents of the Californian town of Carmel overwhelmingly vote for actor Clint Eastwood as their mayor.
1988: Alan Shearer makes his starting debut for Southampton against Arsenal and at 17 years 240 days becomes the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the top flight.
1994: The body of Kurt Cobain is found at his home in Seattle by an electrician.
1995: British-born Nicholas Ingram is executed in the electric chair at Jackson State Prison, Atlanta, Georgia, for the 1983 murder of a man during a robbery. On the same day, Oliver McCall defeats Larry Holmes for the heavyweight boxing title.
1997: Veteran war reporter Martin Bell vows to defeat disgraced Conservative MP Neil Hamilton standing as an independent in the battle for the Tatton constituency. On the same day, singer-songwriter Laura Nyro dies from ovarian cancer.
1998: Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is rescued, along with 11 other passengers from a boat which caught fire while exploring islands south of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
2000: Papillon, ridden by jockey Ruby Walsh and trained by his father Ted Walsh wins the Grand National.
2001: Tiger Woods wins his second US Masters title.
2006: 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 gang.
2008: Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty is jailed for 14 weeks for violating his probation.
2010: Malcolm McLaren, former manager of the Sex Pistols, dies from cancer aged 64.
2013: Death of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher aged 87.
2017: Death of disc jockey Brian Matthew aged 88.
2019: Actress Allison Mack pleads guilty to sex-trafficking charges for her involvement in suspected sex cult Nxivm.
2020: Bernie Sanders drops out of the Democratic race for US president.
BIRTHDAYS: Dame Vivienne Westwood, fashion designer, 80; Roger Chapman, singer (Family) 79; Steve Howe, guitarist (Yes) 74; Izzy Stradlin, guitarist/songwriter (Guns n Roses) 59; Donita Sparks, singer/guitarist (L7) 58; Julian Lennon, singer-songwriter, 58; Robin Wright, actress, 55; Patricia Arquette, actress, 53; Katee Sackhoff, actress, 41; Taylor Kitsch, actor, 40; Ezra Koenig, singer/guitarist (Vampire Weekend), 37; Matthew Healy, vocalist (The 1975) 32; Isaac Hempstead-Wright, actor, 22.
