On This Day in History

On April 26th in 1986, the world’s worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire in the No. 4 reactor sent radioactivity into the atmosphere; at least 31 Soviets died immediately.

 

On this day in music,
04/26/1969 - Led Zepplin played "Whole Lotta Love" live for the first time at The Winterland Ballroom in San Fransisco.
Not that concert but here's Whole Lotta Love live


04/26/1980 - "Call Me" by Blondie hits #1 on the UK charts


04/26/1990 - New Kids on the Block's Danny Wood injured his ankle during a concert in Manchester when he tripped on a stuffed toy that had been thrown onstage.

 

Also on April 27th in 1947, “Babe Ruth Day” at Yankee Stadium was held to honor the ailing baseball star.

 

On April 28th in 1947, a six-man expedition sailed from Peru aboard a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day journey across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia.

 

On April `9th in 1992, deadly rioting that claimed 54 lives and caused $1 billion in damage erupted in Los Angeles after a jury in Simi Valley acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of Rodney King.

 

On April 30th in 1975, the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces.

 

On May 1st in 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

 

On May 2nd in 1945, the Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.

 

On May 3rd in 1971, anti-war protesters calling themselves the Mayday Tribe began four days of demonstrations in Washington, D.C., aimed at shutting down the nation’s capital.

 

On May 4th in 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on anti-war protesters at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others. Or... Four dead in O-hi-o.