What Happened in April?

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

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

1990, April 25 - The Hubble Space Telescope, launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-31 mission. is placed in orbit. More

A deadly tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh, making landfall in the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh 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 erupt 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, 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 

The World Wide Web (WWW) goes public as CERN makes the source code of the World Wide Web available on a royalty-free basis, making it free software. By late 1993 there were over 500 known web servers, and the WWW accounted for 1% of internet traffic, which seemed a lot in those days (the rest was remote access, e-mail and file transfer) More

The Rwandan Genocide erupts, leading to the mass slaughter of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, with neighbors turning on neighbors and family turning on family. Up to 1 million people on some accounts — were brutally slaughtered in just 100 days, leaving the once-beautiful country in ruins as the International community failed to intervine. Against all odds, Rwanda has made remarkable strides in the years since, showing resilience and determination. Despite the lasting scars, Rwanda’s journey of healing, reconciliation, and development stands as an inspiring testament to the unyielding spirit of its people. More

South Africa's first multi-racial general election with full enfranchisement is held. The African National Congress won a 63 percent share of the vote at the election, and Mandela, as leader of the ANC, was inaugurated on 10 May 1994 as the country's first Black President, with the National Party's F.W. de Klerk as his first deputy and Thabo Mbeki as the second in the Government of National Unity. More

The infamous "Unabomber," Theodore Kaczynski, is arrested at his Montana cabin. The FBI had spent nearly two decades hunting him down. More

Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori orders an assault of the Japanese ambassador’s residence to rescue the 72 hostages remaining of the 490 taken during a party celebrating Emperor Akihito’s birthday, by armed terrorists from the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, a Marxist-Leninist organization, All the rebels, including their leader, were killed during the rescue operation. Only one hostage, Supreme Court Justice, Carlos Giusti, was killed in the attack Two soldiers wounded during the rescue operation died later from their injuries. More

The Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, is signed after three decades of conflict known as the Troubles. The agreement set up a power-sharing arrangement and also restored self-government to Northern Ireland. it was approved by voters on May 22, 1998, and came into force on December 2, 1999. The Agreement still survives today.

The Columbine High School massacre occurs in Colorado, resulting in the deaths of 15 individuals, including the perpetrators.

n a symbolic move, Elián González, a Cuban boy at the center of an international custody dispute, is seized by federal agents in Miami.

The Netherlands, becomes the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. The legislation had been approved by the Dutch Parliament in late 2000 and allows same-sex couples to marry on the same terms as heterosexual couples. The first same-sex marriages were officiated by the mayor of Amsterdam on this historic date.

The Netherlands passed a bill permitting euthanasia, the first such national law in the world. More

Dennis Tito, becomes the first private individual to pay for his own trip into space. He was 61 at the time. Reportedly, Tito paid $20M to join the Soyuz TM-32 mission which launched on April 28, 2001. The spacecraft docked with the International Space Station. Tito and his fellow cosmonauts orbited the Earth 128 times, spending 7 days, 22 hours, 4 minutes in space and orbited the Earth 128 times. 

The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression.

U.S. forces capture Baghdad, effectively toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.