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'Avengers: Endgame' premieres in Los Angeles

'Avengers: Endgame' is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2012's 'The Avengers', 2015's 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', and 2018's 'Avengers: Infinity War'.

'Gentleman Jack' premieres on HBO

'Gentleman Jack' is a historical drama television series created by Sally Wainwright. Set in the year 1832 in Yorkshire, it stars Suranne Jones as landowner and industrialist Anne Lister. The series is based on the collected diaries of Lister, which contain over four million words and are written largely in secret code, documenting a lifetime of lesbian relationships.

Airstrike kills on Yemen wedding party

In 2018, an airstrike by the Saudi Arabian-led coalition hit a wedding in the Bani Qa'is District of Hajjah Governorate, Yemen. Casualty estimates vary, with the Houthi-owned Al-Masirah reporting the toll later that day to be at least 33 civilians including the bride, while other estimates are higher. Forty-five other people were injured.

2017

Romania Coach Ilie Nastase is escorted off the court

The International Tennis Federation has banned Ilie Nastase from taking any further part in the Fed Cup tie between Romania and Great Britain after he reduced Johanna Konta to tears and forced her match with Sorana Cirstea to be suspended. He also insulted Anne Keothavong and made an apparently racist comment about Serena Williams’ pregnancy.

'Something Rotten!' opens on Broadway at the St. James Theatre

Something Rotten! is an original musical comedy with a book by John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick and music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick. Something Rotten! opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, and starring Brian d'Arcy James, Christian Borle and John Cariani.

Train crash in Congo

A freight train derailed near the Katongola Bridge in Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The train was carrying hundreds of illegal passengers at the time of the crash. As a result, 48 people were killed and over 160 injured.

The Broadway premiere of 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask and a book by John Cameron Mitchell. The musical follows Hedwig Robinson, a transgender East German singer of a fictional rock and roll band. The show saw its first Broadway incarnation when it opened at the Belasco Theatre, starring Neil Patrick Harris.

'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn is published

Gone Girl is a thriller novel by the writer Gillian Flynn. It was published by Crown Publishing Group. The novel soon made the New York Times Best Seller list. The novel's suspense comes from the main character, Nick Dunne, and whether he is involved in the disappearance of his wife.

Broadway revival of 'A Streetcar Named Desire' opens

A Streetcar Named Desire is a play written by Tennessee Williams which dramatises the life of Blanche DuBois. In 2012, Blair Underwood, Nicole Ari Parker, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Wood Harris starred in a multiracial adaptation at the Broadhurst Theatre.

The first episode of 'Veep' debuts

'Veep' is an American political satire comedy television series, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, that premiered on HBO. The series was created by Scottish writer Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his British sitcom 'The Thick of It'. 'Veep' has received critical acclaim and has won several major awards.

The Deepwater Horizon oil platform sink into the Gulf of Mexico

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill began on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8% to 31% larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill.

'Sondheim on Sondheim' opens at Studio 54

Sondheim on Sondheim is a musical revue consisting of music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim for his many shows. It is conceived and directed by James Lapine. The original Broadway cast featured Barbara Cook, Vanessa L. Williams, Leslie Kritzer, Erin Mackey, Tom Wopat, Norm Lewis, Euan Morton and Matthew Scott.

The USAF retires the last F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft

The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is an American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft that was developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force. The U.S. Air Force retired the F-117 primarily due to the fielding of the F-22 Raptor.

'Gone with the Wind' opens at the West End's New London Theatre

Gone with the Wind is a musical based on the Margaret Mitchell's novel of the same name and its 1939 film adaptation. It officially opened at the New London Theatre in London's West End, directed by Sir Trevor Nunn. Darius Danesh and Jill Paice starred as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara respectively.

2007

Brazil legend Ronaldo appears on animated TV sitcom 'The Simpsons'

Ronaldo appeared in The Simpsons season 18 episode “Marge Gamer” broadcast in 2007. Simon Crerar of The Times listed Ronaldo's performance as one of the thirty-three funniest cameos in the history of the show.

'Assassins' premieres on Broadway

Assassins is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by John Weidman, based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. The Broadway production, directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Jonathan Butterell, Neil Patrick Harris starred in the roles of The Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald, with Marc Kudisch as The Proprietor.

2003

Patrick Roy plays his final career NHL game

Patrick Jacques Roy is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and the former head coach of the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL. He is regarded as one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. He is among players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

One of the worst serial killer is arrested

Garavito was arrested on separate charges of attempted rape. Garavito was questioned about the local killings and his attempted rape charges. Police speculated that Garavito had planned on killing the young boy if the bystander had not interceded. The judicial body ruled that all Garavito's sentences total 1,853 years and nine days in jail.

1995

George Foreman beats Axel Schulz

George Foreman vs. Axel Schulz, billed as "Celebration", was a professional boxing match contested in April 1995. One judge ruled the fight a draw with a score of 114–114, while the other two had the fight 115–113 in favor of Foreman, making Foreman the winner by majority decision.

Richard M. Nixon dies at age 81

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974, when he resigned from office, the only U.S. president to do so. By late 1973, the Watergate scandal escalated, costing Nixon much of his political support. On August 9, 1974, he resigned in the face of almost certain impeachment and removal from office.

1994

Michael Moorer beats Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer was a professional boxing match contested in April 1994. Though earning a knockdown would usually result in a round win for the fighter, judge Jerry Roth scored the round even at 10–10 instead of 10–9 which would have made the fight a majority draw in which Holyfield would have kept his titles.

Version 1.0 of the Mosaic web browser is released

NCSA Mosaic was the 1st web browser with the ability to display text and images inline, meaning you could put pictures and text on the same page together, in the same window. At the time of its release, NCSA Mosaic was available only on Unix. Windows and Mac versions came in late 1993.

Peter Townshend's musical 'Tommy' officially opens on Broadway

The Who's Tommy is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Pete Townshend and book by Townshend and Des McAnuff, based on The Who's rock opera Tommy. The Broadway theatre debut was at the St. James Theatre. The show then officially closed after 899 performances.

Intel Releases 486SX Chip

It was slower than original 486 chip called DX. It lacked the floating-point unit, which performed high-speed arithmetic, used for example in video games. It was, however, cheaper. Intel hoped to make the personal computer industry to migrate toward the more powerful 486. It was a first low-cost processor in history.

1988

Sundstrom makes Stanley Cup playoff history

In April 1988, Sundstrom set a Stanley Cup playoffs record, since tied by Mario Lemieux, by recording eight points in New Jersey's 10-4 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of the Patrick Division Final. This broke the previous record of seven points, recorded on three occasions by Wayne Gretzky while with the Edmonton Oilers.

Third shuttle flight

U. S. Space Shuttle Columbia took off from Kennedy Space Centre. The main purpose of the mission was still testing the shuttle itself. A variety of minor problems were experienced during the flight. The orbiter's toilet malfunctioned. Due to flooding of the Edwards Air Force Base, Columbia had to land at the White Sands Space Harbor.

1978

Nottingham Forest win the English top-flight title having only been promoted that season

Forest became one of the few teams (and the most recent team to date) to win the First Division title the season after winning promotion from the Second Division. This made Brian Clough the third of four managers to win the English league championship with two different clubs. Forest conceded just 24 goals in 42 league games.

The Blues Brothers make their first appearance on NBC’s 'Saturday Night Live'

The Blues Brothers are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. The band was composed of previously well-known musicians, and debuted as the musical guest on an episode of 'Saturday Night Live', opening the show performing 'Hey Bartender', and later 'Soul Man'.

The 23rd Eurovision Song Contest

The 23rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest was held in Paris. The contest was won by Izhar Cohen & the Alphabeta who represented Israel with the song 'A-Ba-Ni-Bi'. The presenters were Denise Fabre and Léon Zitrone, and this was the first time more than one presenter hosted an edition of the Contest.

Bob Marley makes a concert comeback after assassination attempt

The One Love Concert (OLPC) was a large concert held on 22 April 1978 at The National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. This concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica between opposing parties Jamaican Labour Party and the People's National Party. The concert came to its peak during Bob Marley & The Wailers' performance of 'Jamming', when Marley joined the hands of political rivals Michael Manley (PNP) and Edward Seaga (JLP).

Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic

Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of light through an optical fiber. General Telephone and Electronics sent the first live telephone traffic through fiber optics at a 6 Mbit/s throughput in Long Beach, California.

The first Earth Day is celebrated

Earth Day is an annual event, held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The first Earth Day celebrations took place in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States.

1969

British sailor completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world

Sir William Robert Patrick "Robin" Knox-Johnston is a British sailor. In 1969, he became the first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. Along with Sir Peter Blake, he won the second Jules Verne Trophy, for which they were also named the ISAF Yachtsman of the Year award.

1954

NBA adopts 24-second shot clock & 6 team-foul rule

The shot clock was first introduced by the NBA in 1954, to increase the speed of play. Teams were then required to attempt a shot within 24 seconds of gaining possession, and the shot clock would be reset when the ball touched the basket's rim or the backboard, or the opponents gained possession.

Concentration camp at Sachsenhausen is liberated

Sachsenhausen was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners. The camp's remaining 3,000 inmates, including 1,400 women were liberated by the Red Army and the Polish Army's 2nd Infantry Division in April 1945. The campground with the remaining buildings is now open to the public as a museum.

Italian neurobiologist Rita Levi-Montalcini is born

Levi-Montalcini discovered the nerve growth factor, which stimulates and influences both the normal and abnormal growth of nerve cells in the body. Rita found it when she was looking for a chemical exuded by tumors that produced growth of nerve fibers. It was one of the first described growth factors.

American physicist Robert Oppenheimer is born

During the World War 2, Oppenheimer served as a director of the Los Alamos Laboratory. Therefore, he is often called the father of the atomic bomb. After the first bomb test at in New Mexico Oppenheimer remarked that it brought words from the Bhagavad Gita to his mind: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

Novelist Vladimir Nabokov is born

Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a Russian-American novelist, translator, and entomologist. His first nine novels were in Russian, but he achieved international prominence after he began writing English prose. Nabokov was an expert lepidopterist and composer of chess problems.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky completes his ballet 'Swan Lake'

Swan Lake Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular of all ballets. The scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian and/or German folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse.

Strauss' waltz 'Wiener Blut' premieres

Wiener Blut Op. 354 is a waltz by Johann Strauss II first performed by the composer in April. The new dedication waltz was to celebrate the wedding of the Emperor Franz Joseph I's daughter Archduchess Gisela Louise Maria and Prince Leopold of Bavaria. However, the waltz was also chiefly noted by Strauss' biographers as the début of Strauss with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin is born

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He served as head of government of Soviet Russia and of the Soviet Union. Under his administration, Russia and then the wider Soviet Union became a one-party communist state governed by the Russian Communist Party.

Anniversaries of the (in)famous