What Happened in April?

The space shuttle Columbia lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida 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. The flight lasted 54 hours in space, with 36 orbits before successfully touching down at California’s Edwards Air Force Base on April 14. Columbia went on to have a total of 27 successful flights. On 2/1/2003, on its 28th flight, Columbia and Crew were lost During reentry. More

A suicide bomber detonated a one-half-ton pickup truck laden with 2,000 pounds of TNT 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 worst nuclear accident in history occurs 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. About 350,000 people were evacuated as a result of the accident. The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation has concluded that, apart from some 5000 thyroid cancers (resulting in 15 fatalities), "there is no evidence of a major public health impact attributable to radiation exposure 20 years after the accident." More

The Geneva Accords to settle the situation relating in Afghanistan, were signed at the Geneva headquarters of the United Nations, between Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the United States and the Soviet Union serving as guarantors.  Expand +

Aloha Flight 243, 737 aircraft lands safely 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. The violent rush of air sadly caused flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing to be swept from the aircraft. She was the only fatality, with all passengers seated and belted at the time. Neither her body or the piece of the fuselage blown off the aircraft were ever found. The Investigation by the U. S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue exacerbated by crevice corrosion. More

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.