Important Events From This day in History April 28

 

1947 Peru Kon-Tiki Expedition

1947: A Norwegian expedition including 5 Norwegians and a Swede headed by Thor Heyerdahl set out on the raft The Kon-Tiki from Peru in South America to cross the 4000 miles of Pacific Ocean to prove that the Polynesian Islands were settled in a similar way thousands of years ago, the raft is equipped with a square sail and paddles. Find More What happened in 1947

2008 New Zealand Colossal Squid

2008: A rarely found Colossal Squid 34 feet long, and weighing 1/2 ton squid is being dissected to help understand a little more about rare animal that lives largely in the cold Antarctic waters. The squid is believed to grow up to 50 ft long a similar length to the sperm whale they are believed to tussle with in the depths of the ocean.

1940 USA Glenn Miller Pennsylvania 6-5000

1940: "Pennsylvania 6-5000," by Glenn Miller and his orchestra, was recorded. The song's title refers to the oldest existing New York City phone number at the time belonging to the Hotel Pennsylvania. Many prominent acts played at this venue, including the Dorsey Brothers, Duke Ellington and the Glenn Miller Orchestra as well.

1789 Tahiti Mutiny On The Bounty

1789: Fletcher Christian leads a mutiny against the commanding officer William Bligh aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty. Mutineers set Captain Bligh and 18 crew loyal to the captain afloat in a 23-foot open boat. Captain Bligh and his fellow loyal crew made it after a 47-day voyage to Timor in the Dutch East Indies and returned to England and reported the mutiny. The Mutineers eventually settled in Pitcairn Island and Tahiti.

1926 Europe 5,000,000 Unemployed

1926: Unemployment in Europe is at an all time high with over 5,000,000 receiving doles from their governments with over 1 million in Britain and 2 million in Germany, causes are from many things including antiquated equipment, high taxes, and high production costs.

1935 USA 1,200,000 Face Starvation in Illinois

1935: Over 1,200,000 people face starvation in Illinois if the US Federal Government stops providing new deal funding, the reason is that the state must provide $3,000,000 of the $12,000,000 required each month to feed and house the unemployed indigents or the federal government withdraws it's funding and the state does not have the money and is not providing that funding.

1945 Italy Mussolini

1945: Italian partisans executed deposed dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci. Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.

1955 Vietnam Nigo Dinh Diem

1955: The American backed premier Nigo Dinh Diem in Vietnam is fighting for survival against rebel forces , the backing of the US is only in expression of support and is not providing military support in any way.

1965 Dominican Republic US Citizens Evacuated

1965: U.S. Marines evacuated American citizens in the Dominican Republic due to the current civil war.

1967 USA Muhammad Ali

1967: Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali appears for his scheduled induction into the U.S. Armed Forces in Houston, he refused three times to step forward at the call of his name. He is then warned by an officer that failing to answer to his name was a felony punishable by five years in prison and a fine of $10,000. He still refused to budge when his name was called. On the same day, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and stripped him of his title. In 1964 he had failed the U.S. Armed Forces qualifying test because his writing and spelling skills were sub par. However, in early 1966, the tests were revised and Ali was reclassified as 1A. When notified of this status, he declared that he would refuse to serve in the United States Army.

1969 USA All Guns Banned From US Colleges

1969: Following a number of protests and armed students involving guns and weapons in colleges and universities across the US new laws are being sought to ban all guns from college compasses.

1969 France Charles de Gaulle Resigns

1969: The French President, Charles de Gaulle, resigns from President of France after 11 years, following his defeat in a referendum on governmental reforms.

1975 Vietnam Last US Citizens Evacuated

1975: US Involvement in Vietnam is now complete as helicopters and marines bring out the last US Citizens and parents of thousands of South Vietnamese children are begging the US to save the children as US Marines are using pistol and rifle butts to smash the fingers of Vietnamese trying to climb over the walls and enter the US Embassy compound.

1986 Soviet Union Chernobyl

1986: Two days after monitoring stations in Sweden, Finland and Norway began reporting sudden high discharges of radioactivity in the atmosphere. The Soviet Union via the official news agency, Tass, said there has been an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

1994 USA Aldrich Ames

1994: A CIA double agent Aldrich Ames is jailed for life after admitted selling secrets to the Soviet Union and then Russia.

1995 South Korea Gas Explosion

1995: A gas explosion beneath a busy city street in Taegu, South Korea, kills more than 100 people many of them children on their way to school.

1996 Australia Gunman Kills 32

1996: A gunman has shot and killed 32 people in the tourist town of Port Arthur, Tasmania. The gunman is now holding three people hostage in a local guest-house. The gunman "Martin Bryant" did kill the three hostages during the siege and is captured by police the next day and is found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.

2004 USA Abu Ghraib Prisoner Abuse Scandal

2004: The first photos of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal were shown on CBS' "60 Minutes II." . The US army has all ready instituted and was already acting on these photographs prior to the 60 Minutes Showing and those involved are all in Iraq, awaiting court martial. The abuses were committed by some personnel of the 372nd Military Police Company of the United States together with additional American governmental agencies.

2006 Wiretapping Lawsuit Against AT&T

2006: The Bush administration has said that it will be trying to halt the lawsuit that is accusing AT&T of illegally helping the National Security Agency spy on Americans citizens. In an 8-page document that was filed with a federal court in a northern district of California, the U.S. Justice Department said that it would intervene in the lawsuit. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group based in San Francisco, had filed a class action lawsuit against the federal government in January. The suit claims AT&T's alleged cooperation violates the Constitution's free speech and privacy rights and contravenes the federal wiretapping law, which prohibits electronic surveillance "except as authorized."

2008 Supreme Court Approves Indiana’s Photo ID Voting

2008: The Supreme Court has issued a decision to uphold an Indiana law that requires citizens to provide photo identification when voting. It is hoped that this will guard against fraud. Critics of the law argue that it discriminates against poor voters, ethnic minorities and the elderly, who are less likely to carry ID, but the Court ruled that the law did not constitute a burden on voters. Other states have similar rules, and the court's ruling could prompt even more states to adopt the law.