What Happened in April?

Korean Air Lines jet Flight 902 (KAL 902), on a flight from Paris to Seoul, on April 20, 1978, is forced down over the Soviet Union, after the jet veers into Russian airspace. Expand +

Zimbabwe gains independence from Britain on April 18, 1980, ending 15 years of white minority rule under the Rhodesia government and nearly 90 years of colonial rule. Following the Lancaster House Agreement, elections were held, resulting in Robert Mugabe becoming the first prime minister of the new Republic of Zimbabwe.

Fidel Castro announces on April 20, 1980, that all Cubans wanting to leave the island could do so, as long as they left from Mariel Harbor, a port 25 miles west of the capital of Havana, and had someone waiting to retrieve them. More

"Eagle Claw". the military operation on April 24, 1980, to rescue the 66 American hostages held in Tehran, ended with eight U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued, after a mid-air collision at a remote Iranian desert site. More

Dan-Air Flight 1008, a Boeing 727-46 jet aircraft operated by Dan Air Services as a charter flight from Manchester to Tenerife on the Canary Islands crashes on April  25, 1980 on La Esperanza Mountain killing all 146 on board. More

The space shuttle Columbia lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on April 12, 1981, and becomes the first reusable manned spacecraft to travel into space. Carrying the two-person crew of John Young and Robert Crippen, Columbia proved the operational concept of a winged, reusable spaceship. Expand +

Argentine forces launched "Operation Rosario," on April 2, 1982, invading the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and forcing the surrender of the small British garrison in Port Stanley. Leading to a 74-day, undeclared war as Britain dispatched a naval task force, resulting in Argentina's surrender on June 14, 1982, with 649 Argentine and 255 British lives lost.

The Canada Act of 1982, transferring the authority for amending the Constitution of Canada to the federal and provincial governments goes into effect on April 17, 1982,  ending Britain's authority and making Canada wholly independent. It had been passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and received Royal ascent on March 29, 1982.

A suicide bomber detonated a one-half-ton pickup truck laden with 2,000 pounds of TNT on April 18, 1983, near the front of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people, including 17 Americans. It was the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission to date, and changed the way the U.S. Department of State secured its resources and executed its missions overseas. More

The United States launches air strikes against Libya on April 14, 1986 in retaliation for the Libyan sponsorship of terrorism against American troops and citizens in multiple locations.  The raid, involved hundred of US planes. Several military targets and “terrorism centers” were hit, including the headquarters of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.

The worst nuclear accident in history occurs on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl nuclear site in Ukraine. The accident was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel who were running a poorly designed test. Expand +

The Geneva Accords to settle the situation relating in Afghanistan, were signed on April 14, 1988 at the Geneva headquarters of the United Nations, between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the United States and the Soviet Union serving as guarantors. Leading to the complete withdrawal of the Soviet Army in February 1988. Expand +

Aloha Flight 243, 737 aircraft lands safely on April 28, 1988, after Losing Its Roof at 24,000 feet. The explosive decompression, which tore off the cockpit door and over 18 feet of the aircraft's roof between the cockpit and the wings.  Expand +

The tragedy at Hillsborough Stadium on April 15, 1989, in Sheffield, England, results in the deaths of 96 football fans due to overcrowding.

Tens of thousands of Chinese students and civilians gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on April 15, 1989, to protest for democracy and government accountability. The protests lasted until June 4, 1989, with  a violent crackdown by the Chinese government. More

Mikhail Gorbachev, officially acknowledged on April 13, 1990 that the Soviet Union was responsible for the Katyn massacre in Poland in 1940, and released archival evidence confirming the crime, where nearly220,000 Polish military officers, policemen, and intelligentsia were secretly killed and buried during their occupation of eastern Poland. Expand +

The Hubble Space Telescope is deployed in low earth orbit on April 25, 1990, after being launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-31 mission the day before. More

A deadly tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh, making landfall in the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh, on April 29, 1991, with winds of around 155 mph (250 km/h). The tropical cyclone caused a 20 feet 6.1 m (20 ft) storm surge, which inundated the coastline, causing at about 140,000 deaths and US $1.7 billion in damage. More

The Los Angeles riots erupted on April 29, 1992, following the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King.

The Branch Davidians religious sect compound led by David Koresh in Waco Texas is destroyed in a fire on on April 19, 1993, ending the 51-day siege by US federal government and Texas state law enforcement officials. Seventy-six Branch Davidians, including 20–28 children and Koresh perished in the fire. More