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6th April - the first day of the Modern Olympics in 1896:
The links in this Wikipedia insert are clickable

1896 Summer Olympics

Multi-sport event in Athens, Greece

The 1896 Summer Olympics,^[1] officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad,^[2] and commonly known as Athens 1896 (Greek: Αθήνα 1896), were the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had been created by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin, the event was held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.

Fourteen nations (according to the IOC, though the number is subject to interpretation) and 241 athletes (all males; this number is also disputed) took part in the games.^[3] Participants were all European or living in Europe, with the exception of the United States team, and over 65% of the competing athletes were Greek. Winners were given a silver medal, while runners-up received a copper medal. Retroactively, the IOC has designated the top three finishers in each event as gold, silver, and bronze medalists. Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals. On April 6, 1896, American James Connolly became the first Olympic medalist in more than 1,500 years, competing in the triple jump.^[4] The United States won the most gold medals, 11, while host nation Greece won the most medals overall, 47. The highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spyridon Louis. The most successful competitor was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann, who won four events.

Athens had been chosen to stage the inaugural modern Games during a congress organised by Coubertin in Paris on 23 June 1894, during which the IOC was also created.^[5] The main venue was the Panathenaic Stadium, where athletics and wrestling took place; other venues included the Neo Phaliron Velodrome for cycling and the Zappeion for fencing. The opening ceremony was held in the Panathenaic Stadium on 6 April, during which most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organising committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the Games. Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed an Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras and written by Kostis Palamas.

The 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. The Panathenaic Stadium overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event.^[6] After the Games, Coubertin and the IOC were petitioned by several prominent figures, including Greece's King George and some of the American competitors in Athens, to hold all the following Games in Athens. However, the 1900 Summer Olympics were already planned for Paris, and, with the exception of the Intercalated Games of 1906, the Olympics did not return to Greece until the 2004 Summer Olympics, 108 years later.

1. ^ (Greek: Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, romanized: Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896)
2. ^ (Greek: Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, romanized: Agónes tis Protis Olympiádas)
3. ^ "Athens 1896 Summer Olympics". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
4. ^ "Olympedia – James B. Connolly". www.olympedia.org. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
5. ^ Young 1996, pp. 100–105, 172.
6. ^ Young 1996, p. 153.

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7th April. Those in Australia will remember this disruption 10 years ago today:

1998 Australian waterfront dispute

Event in Australian industrial relations history

The Australian waterfront dispute of 1998 was an event in Australian industrial relations history, in which the Patrick Corporation undertook a restructuring of their operations for the purpose of dismissing their workforce. The restructuring by Patrick Corporation was later ruled illegal by Australian courts. The dispute involved Patrick Corporation terminating the employment of its workforce and locking out the workers of the workplace after the restructuring had taken place, with many of these workers members of the dominant Maritime Union of Australia. The resulting dismissal and locking out of their unionised workforce was supported by the Howard government.

Major events in the dispute occurred in four major ports, where the Patrick Corporation had significant operations: Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle and Sydney.^[1] It revolved around attempts by Patrick Corporation and the federal government to improve efficiency on Australia's wharves; primarily by reducing staffing numbers and the power of the Maritime Union of Australia.

1. ^ Steve O'Neill, "Outline of the Waterfront Dispute", Current Issues Brief, (Parliamentary Library), n15, 1998. Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine

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Also 7th April is:

World Health Day

Worldwide day of action organized by the WHO

World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April, under the sponsorship of the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as other related organizations.

In 1948, the WHO held the First World Health Assembly. The Assembly decided to celebrate 7 April of each year, with effect from 1950, as the World Health Day. The World Health Day is held to mark WHO's founding and is seen as an opportunity by the organization to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health each year.^[1] The WHO organizes international, regional and local events on the Day related to a particular theme. World Health Day is acknowledged by various governments and non-governmental organizations with interests in public health issues, who also organize activities and highlight their support in media reports, such as the Global Health Council.^[2]

World Health Day is one of 11 official global health campaigns marked by WHO, along with World Tuberculosis Day, World Immunization Week, World Malaria Day, World No Tobacco Day, World AIDS Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Chagas Disease Day, World Patient Safety Day, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and World Hepatitis Day.^[3]

1. ^ World Health Organization: World Health Day. Accessed 16 March 2011.
2. ^ Global Health Council: World Health Day Archived 30 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine by Lara Endreszl, 7 April 2009.
3. ^ World Health Organization: WHO campaigns. Archived 3 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine

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...and also on this day in 1948, the WHO came into being:

World Health Organization

Specialized agency of the United Nations

"WHO" and "The WHO" redirect here. For other uses, see Who (disambiguation). For the band, see The Who.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies.^[2] It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has six regional offices^[3] and 150 field offices worldwide. Only sovereign states are eligible to join, and it is the largest intergovernmental health organization at the international level.^[4]

The WHO's stated purpose is to achieve the highest possible level of health for all the world's people, defining health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."^[5] The main functions of the World Health Organization include promoting the control of epidemic and endemic diseases; providing and improving the teaching and training in public health, the medical treatment of disease, and related matters; and promoting the establishment of international standards for biological products.

The WHO was established on 7 April 1948, and formally began its work on 1 September 1948.^[6] It incorporated the assets, personnel, and duties of the League of Nations' Health Organization and the Paris-based Office International d'Hygiène Publique, including the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).^[7] The agency's work began in earnest in 1951 after a significant infusion of financial and technical resources.^[8]

The WHO's official mandate is to promote health and safety while helping the vulnerable worldwide. It provides technical assistance to countries, sets international health standards, collects data on global health issues, and serves as a forum for scientific or policy discussions related to health.^[2] Its official publication, the World Health Report, provides assessments of worldwide health topics.^[9]

The WHO has played a leading role in several public health achievements, most notably the eradication of smallpox, the near-eradication of polio, and the development of an Ebola vaccine. Its current priorities include communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria and tuberculosis; non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer; healthy diet, nutrition, and food security; occupational health; and substance abuse. The agency advocates for universal health care coverage, engagement with the monitoring of public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, and promoting health and well-being generally.^[10]

The WHO is governed by the World Health Assembly (WHA), which is composed of its 192 member states. The WHA elects and advises an executive board made up of 34 health specialists; selects the WHO's chief administrator, the director-general (currently Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia);^[11] sets goals and priorities; and approves the budget and activities. The WHO is funded primarily by contributions from member states (both assessed and voluntary), followed by private donors.

1. ^ "Modernizing the WHO headquarters in Geneva" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
2. ^ ^{a b} "The U.S. Government and the World Health Organization". Kaiser Family Foundation. 21 January 2025. Archived from the original on 28 March 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
3. ^ "Regional offices". www.who.int. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
4. ^ "WHO (World Health Organisation)". Internews. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
5. ^ "Constitution of the World Health Organization". www.who.int. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
6. ^ Ascher, Charles S. (1952). "Current Problems in the World Health Organization's Program". International Organization. 6 (1): 27–50. doi:10.1017/S0020818300016179. ISSN 1531-5088. Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
7. ^ "Milestones for health over 70 years". World Health Organization/Europe. 17 March 2020. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
8. ^ "World Health Organization". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
9. ^ "World health report 2013: Research for universal health coverage". WHO. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
10. ^ "What we do". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
11. ^ "Dr Tedros takes office as WHO Director-General". World Health Organization. 1 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2017.

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On the 8 April 1895, income tax is declared unconstitutional:

Pollock_v._Farmers%27_Loan_%26_Trust_Co.

 

9th April:

Alaska purchase

Redirect to:

• Alaska Purchase

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April 11: Apollo 13 launches:

Apollo 13

Aborted Moon landing mission in the Apollo program

This article is about the 1970 spaceflight. For the film based upon it, see Apollo 13 (film). For other uses, see Apollo 13 (disambiguation).

Apollo 13 (April 11–17, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and would have been the third Moon landing. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the landing was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module (SM) exploded two days into the mission, disabling its electrical and life-support system. The crew, supported by backup systems on the Apollo Lunar Module, instead looped around the Moon in a circumlunar trajectory and returned safely to Earth on April 17. The mission was commanded by Jim Lovell, with Jack Swigert as command module (CM) pilot and Fred Haise as Lunar Module (LM) pilot. Swigert was a late replacement for Ken Mattingly, who was grounded after exposure to rubella.

A routine stir of an oxygen tank ignited damaged wire insulation inside it, causing an explosion that vented the contents of both of the SM's oxygen tanks to space.^{[note 1]} Without oxygen, needed for breathing and for generating electrical power, the SM's propulsion and life support systems could not operate. The CM's systems had to be shut down to conserve its remaining resources for reentry, forcing the crew to transfer to the LM as a lifeboat. With the lunar landing canceled, mission controllers worked to bring the crew home alive.

Although the LM was designed to support two men on the lunar surface for two days, Mission Control in Houston improvised new procedures so it could support three men for four days. The crew experienced great hardship, caused by limited power, a chilly and wet cabin and a shortage of drinking water. There was a critical need to adapt the CM's cartridges for the carbon dioxide scrubber system to work in the LM; the crew and mission controllers were successful in improvising a solution. The astronauts' peril briefly renewed public interest in the Apollo program; tens of millions watched the splashdown in the South Pacific Ocean on television.

An investigative review board found fault with preflight testing of the oxygen tank and Teflon being placed inside it. The board recommended changes, including minimizing the use of potentially combustible items inside the tank; this was done for Apollo 14. The story of Apollo 13 has been dramatized several times, most notably in the 1995 film Apollo 13 (based on Lost Moon, the 1994 memoir co-authored by Lovell) and an episode of the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.

1. ^ "Apollo 13 CM". N2YO.com. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
2. ^ Orloff 2000, p. 309.
3. ^ "Apollo 13 Command and Service Module (CSM)". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
4. ^ "Apollo 13 Lunar Module / EASEP". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
5. ^ Orloff 2000, p. 307.
6. ^ "Apollo 13". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Archived from the original on January 17, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
7. ^ Williams, David. "The Apollo 13 accident". NASA. The Apollo 13 malfunction was caused by an explosion and rupture of oxygen tank no. 2 in the service module.
8. ^ Cortright 1975, pp. 248–249: "I did, of course, occasionally think of the possibility that the spacecraft explosion might maroon us... Thirteen minutes after the explosion, I happened to look out of the left-hand window, and saw the final evidence pointing toward potential catastrophe. "
9. ^ Accident report, p. 143.
10. ^ Cooper 2013, p. 21: "Later, in describing what happened, NASA engineers avoided using the word "explosion;" they preferred the more delicate and less dramatic term "tank failure," and in a sense it was the more accurate expression, inasmuch as the tank did not explode in the way a bomb does but broke open under pressure."

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12 April; the first Space Shuttle is launched:

STS-1

First Space Shuttle mission, first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia

This article is about the Space Shuttle flight. For Synchronous Transport Signal (level)-1 in the SONET hierarchy, see Synchronous optical networking. For the gene, see STS-1 (gene).

STS-1 (Space Transportation System-1) was the first orbital spaceflight of NASA's Space Shuttle program. The first orbiter, Columbia, launched on April 12, 1981, and returned on April 14, 1981, 54.5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times.^[1] Columbia carried a crew of two—commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen. It was the first American crewed space flight since the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) in 1975. STS-1 was also the maiden test flight of a new American spacecraft to carry a crew, though it was preceded by atmospheric testing (ALT) of the orbiter and ground testing of the Space Shuttle system.

The launch occurred on the 20th anniversary of Vostok 1, the first human spaceflight, performed by Yuri Gagarin for the USSR. This was a coincidence rather than a celebration of the anniversary; a technical problem had prevented STS-1 from launching two days earlier, as was planned.

1. ^ "STS-1 - NASA".

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April 13 is the 103rd day of the year (104th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 262 days remaining until the end of the year.

It is also the Ides (middle day) of April.

and in 1997, Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win golf's Masters Tournament.

Tiger Woods

American professional golfer (born 1975)

Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time and as one of the most famous athletes in modern history.^[4] Woods is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, holds numerous golf records,^[4] and is an inductee of the World Golf Hall of Fame.^[5]

Following an outstanding junior, college, and amateur career, Woods turned professional in 1996 at age 20. By April 1997, he had won three PGA Tour events and his first major, the 1997 Masters, which he won by 12 strokes in a record-setting performance. He reached number one in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in June 1997, less than a year after turning professional. Woods dominated men's golf throughout the first decade of the 21st century, holding the world's top ranking from August 1999 to September 2004 (264 consecutive weeks) and again from June 2005 to October 2010 (281 consecutive weeks). The following decade was marked by comebacks from personal issues and injuries. He took a self‑imposed hiatus from professional golf from December 2009 to April 2010 to address marital problems.^[6] Woods fell to number 58 in the world rankings in November 2011 before returning to the number‑one position between March 2013 and May 2014.^[7][8] Injuries led to four back surgeries between 2014 and 2017,^[9] and he competed in only one tournament between August 2015 and January 2018, dropping out of the world's top 1,000 players.^[10][11] After returning to regular competition, he won the Tour Championship in September 2018—his first victory in five years—and the 2019 Masters, his first major in 11 years.

Woods holds numerous golf records. He has spent the most consecutive weeks and the most total weeks as the world's number‑one player. He has been named PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times,^[12] and he led the PGA Tour money list in 10 seasons. He has won 15 major golf championships (second only to Jack Nicklaus's 18) and 82 PGA Tour events (tied with Sam Snead for the all-time record).^[13] Woods is one of six men to complete the career Grand Slam, along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Nicklaus, and Rory McIlroy. He is the youngest to do so, and one of two golfers—along with Nicklaus—to achieve the career Grand Slam three times.^[14] He was a member of the winning United States team at the 1999 Ryder Cup and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May 2019.^[15]

Woods was awarded AP Athlete of the Year four times and AP Athlete of the Decade of the 2000s. He was also awarded Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year three times and the Laureus World Sports Sportsman of the Year twice. Woods was among Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2004, 2009 and 2019 which is tied for the second most selections for a professional athlete. He has been listed by Forbes as the highest paid athlete in the world for a record 11 years including for 10 straight years from 2002 to 2011.^[16] As of April 2026, his net worth was estimated at US$1.5 billion by Forbes.^[17]

On February 23, 2021, Woods was hospitalized after a single‑car collision and underwent emergency surgery for compound fractures in his right leg and a shattered ankle.^[18] In a November 2021 interview with Golf Digest, he stated that his full‑time professional career was over, though he intended to play a limited schedule.^[19] He returned to the PGA Tour at the 2022 Masters. In 2026, Woods was involved in another car crash and was charged with driving under the influence and causing property damage.^[20]

1. ^ ^{a b} "Tiger Woods – Profile". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
2. ^ "Week 24 1997 Ending 15 Jun 1997" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
3. ^ 2009 European Tour Official Guide Section 4, p. 577 PDF 21. European Tour. Retrieved April 21, 2009. Archived January 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ ^{a b}
   • Chase, Chris (April 13, 2018). "Who is the greatest golfer ever: Tiger or Jack?". USA Today. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
   • Diaz, Jaime (January 23, 2018). "What made Tiger Woods great – and can again". Golf Digest. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
   • "Phil Mickelson says Tiger Woods played best golf ever". ESPN. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
5. ^ Harig, Bob (March 11, 2020). "Tiger Woods to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021". ESPN.
6. ^ Cite error: The named reference legend was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
7. ^ "Westwood becomes world number one". BBC News. October 31, 2010.
8. ^ Cite error: The named reference chevron was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. ^ "Complete list of Tiger Woods' injuries". PGA Tour. Associated Press. March 5, 2019. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
10. ^ DiMeglio, Steve (August 1, 2018). "With game on point, Tiger Woods is in perfect place to win again at Firestone". USA Today. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
11. ^ Reid, Philip (August 14, 2018). "For the new Tiger Woods, second place is far from first loser". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
12. ^ Kelley, Brent (October 20, 2009). "Woods Clinches PGA Player of the Year Award". About.com: Golf. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
13. ^ "Tracking Tiger". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on June 3, 2009. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
14. ^ Powers, Christopher (January 21, 2022). "18 still remarkable stats from Jack Nicklaus' illustrious career". Golf Digest. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
15. ^ Rogers, Katie (May 6, 2019). "'I've Battled,' Tiger Woods Says as He Accepts Presidential Medal of Freedom". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
16. ^ https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/earnings/forbes-index.htm
17. ^ "Tiger Woods". Forbes. Retrieved April 5, 2026.
18. ^ Macaya, Melissa (February 23, 2021). "Tiger Woods injured in car crash". CNN. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
19. ^ Rapaport, Dan (November 29, 2021). "Exclusive: Tiger Woods discusses golf future in first in-depth interview since car accident". Golf Digest. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
20. ^ Hanlon, Greg; Pelisek, Christine (March 27, 2026). "Tiger Woods Charged with DUI, Causing Property Damage After Rollover Crash". People. Retrieved March 28, 2025.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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1860 - The first Pony Express rider reaches Sacramento, U.S..

Pony Express

1860–1861 mail service in the United States

This article is about the American horse-based mail service. For other uses, see Pony Express (disambiguation).

The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company.

During its 18 months of operation beginning in 1860, the Pony Express reduced the time for messages to travel between the east and west US coast to about 10 days. It became the west's most direct means of east–west communication before the first transcontinental telegraph was established (October 24, 1861), and was vital for tying the new state of California with the rest of the United States.

Despite a heavy subsidy, the Pony Express was not a financial success and went bankrupt in 18 months, when a faster telegraph service was established. Nevertheless, it demonstrated that a unified transcontinental system of communications could be established and operated year-round. When it was replaced by the telegraph, the Pony Express quickly became romanticized and became part of the lore of the Old West. Its reliance on the ability and endurance of hardy riders and fast horses was seen as evidence of rugged American individualism of the frontier times.

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April 1912 -The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic

RMS Titanic

Redirect to:

• Titanic

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April 16. 2007 - Virginia Tech massacre: the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, in which a gunman shoots 32 people to death and injures 23 others before committing suicide.

Virginia Tech massacre

Redirect to:

• Virginia Tech shooting

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April 17:

Bay of Pigs Invasion

1961 failed landing operation of Cuba

"Invasion of Cuba" redirects here. For the War of Jenkins' Ear battles, see Invasion of Cuba (1741). For the United States in Cuba in 1898, see Spanish–American War.

The Bay of Pigs Invasion^[6] was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in April 1961 by the United States and the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front (DRF), consisting of Cuban exiles who opposed Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution, clandestinely and directly financed by the U.S. government. The operation took place at the height of the Cold War, and its failure influenced relations between Cuba, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

By early 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower had begun contemplating ways to remove Castro.^[7] In accordance with this goal, Eisenhower eventually approved Richard Bissell's plan which included training the paramilitary force that would later be used in the Bay of Pigs Invasion.^[8] Alongside covert operations, the U.S. also began its embargo of the island. This led Castro to reach out to the U.S.'s Cold War rival, the Soviet Union, after which the U.S. severed diplomatic relations.

Cuban exiles who had moved to the U.S. following Castro's takeover had formed the counter-revolutionary military unit Brigade 2506, which was the armed wing of the DRF. The CIA funded the brigade, which also included approximately 60 members of the Alabama Air National Guard,^[9] and trained the unit in Guatemala. Over 1,400 paramilitaries, divided into five infantry battalions and one paratrooper battalion, assembled and launched from Guatemala and Nicaragua by boat on 17 April 1961. Two days earlier, eight CIA-supplied B-26 bombers had attacked Cuban airfields and then returned to the U.S. On the night of 17 April, the main invasion force landed on the beach at Playa Girón in the Bay of Pigs, where it overwhelmed a local revolutionary militia. Initially, José Ramón Fernández led the Cuban Revolutionary Army counter-offensive; later, Castro took personal control. As the invasion force lost the strategic initiative, the international community found out about the invasion, and U.S. president John F. Kennedy decided to withhold further air support.^[10] The plan, devised during Eisenhower's presidency, had required the involvement of U.S. air and naval forces. Without further air support, the invasion was being conducted with fewer forces than the CIA had deemed necessary. The invading force was defeated within three days by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias; FAR) and surrendered on 20 April. Most of the surrendered counter-revolutionary troops were publicly interrogated, incarcerated into Cuban prisons and subsequently prosecuted and tried.

The invasion was a U.S. foreign policy failure. The Cuban government's victory solidified Castro's role as a national hero and widened the political division between the two formerly friendly countries, as well as emboldened other Latin American groups to undermine U.S. influence in the region. As stated in a memoir from Chester Bowles: "The humiliating failure of the invasion shattered the myth of a New Frontier run by a new breed of incisive, fault-free supermen. However costly, it may have been a necessary lesson." It also pushed Cuba closer to the Soviet Union, setting the stage for the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

1. ^ ^{a b} Cite error: The named reference fernandez was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ ^{a b c} Szulc 1986.
3. ^ ^{a b} FRUS X, documents 19, 24, 35, 245, 271.
4. ^ Triay 2001, pp. 83–113.
5. ^ ^{a b} Quesada 2009, p. 46.
6. ^ (Spanish: Invasión de la Bahía de los Cochinos, sometimes called Invasión de Playa Girón or Batalla de Playa Girón after the Playa Girón)
7. ^ Ambrose 1990, p. 499.
8. ^ Ambrose 1990, pp. 499–500.
9. ^ "Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Alabama Air National Guard". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
10. ^ Voss, Michael (14 April 2011). "The 'perfect failure' of Cuba invasion". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.

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April 18: 1923 - Yankee Stadium, "The House that Ruth Built", opens.

Yankee Stadium

Baseball stadium in the Bronx, New York City

This article is about the stadium that opened in 2009. For the original stadium, see Yankee Stadium (1923). For other uses, see Yankee Stadium (disambiguation).

Yankee Stadium (also referred to as New Yankee Stadium to distinguish it from the original) is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees.

The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the original Yankee Stadium that operated from 1923 to 2008; it is situated on the 24-acre (9.7 ha) former site of Macombs Dam Park, one block north of the original stadium's site. The new Yankee Stadium replicates design elements of the original Yankee Stadium, including its exterior and trademark frieze, while incorporating larger spaces and modern amenities. It has the fifth-largest seating capacity among the 30 stadiums of Major League Baseball.

Construction on the stadium began in August 2006, and the project spanned many years and faced many controversies, including the high public cost and the loss of public park land. The $2.3 billion stadium was built with $1.2 billion in public subsidies^[22] and is one of the most expensive stadiums ever built.^[26]

Yankee Stadium hosted the 2009 and 2024 World Series. Yankee Stadium became the home field of MLS expansion team New York City FC in 2015, which is owned by City Football Group and the Yankees. It will be an interim venue for the club until Etihad Park is constructed in Willets Point and opens in 2027. It has also occasionally hosted college football games, including the annual Pinstripe Bowl, concerts, and other athletic and entertainment events.

1. ^ Mushnick, Phil (June 26, 2017). "Yankees brass turned Stadium games into a funeral". New York Post. New York: News Corp. Archived from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2017. Given the Stadium was short roughly 15,000 who might've otherwise been there...
2. ^ Popper, Daniel. "Young star Aaron Judge the talk of Yankees' Old-Timers' Day at the Stadium". Daily News. New York: Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2017. Many of the greatest living Yankees from the past half-century graced the field at the Stadium Sunday for Old-Timers' Day...
3. ^ "The House That Jeter Built". MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
4. ^ Russ, Hilary (August 29, 2016). "New York Yankees baseball team to refinance $1 billion of stadium debt". Reuters.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
5. ^ ^{a b} "S&P raises Yankee Stadium bonds to 'BBB'". Reuters.com. July 31, 2012. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
6. ^ Brown, Maury. "Yankees parent group carrying nearly $2 billion in debt". TheFreeLibrary.com (Business of Sports Network). Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
7. ^ "2020 Official Media Guide and Record Book" (PDF). Major League Baseball Advanced Media. February 24, 2020. p. 372. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 3, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
8. ^ "2021 Official Media Guide and Record Book" (PDF). Major League Baseball Advanced Media. March 2021. p. 376. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
9. ^ "2018 Official Media Guide and Record Book". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. February 22, 2018. p. 347. Archived from the original on November 2, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
10. ^ "New York Yankees on the Forbes MLB Team Valuations List". Forbes. April 11, 2017. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2017.
11. ^ Kronheim, David P. (2016). "2015 MLB Attendance Analysis" (PDF). Flushing, NY: Number Tamer. pp. 11, 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
12. ^ "New York Yankees on the Forbes MLB Team Valuations List". Forbes. March 25, 2015. Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
13. ^ Marchand, Andrew; Matthews, Wallace (March 25, 2014). "Question 4: Will Jeter Lure 4 Million Fans?". ESPN. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
14. ^ Perrotto, John (October 12, 2012). "Yankee Stadium Sea of Blue – Empty Seats – at Game Time". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 10, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
15. ^ Shpigel, Ben (October 14, 2010). "Vazquez's Final Pitch in Pinstripes?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
16. ^ Booth, Mark. "What's New for NYCFC This Season?". NYCFC.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
17. ^ ^{a b} "New York City FC outline plans for Yankee Stadium's baseball-to-soccer conversion". Major League Soccer. April 21, 2014. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
18. ^ "Notre Dame Shut Downs Army, Rolls In New Yankee Stadium Debut". University of Notre Dame Official Athletic Site. Associated Press. November 20, 2010. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
19. ^ "Tigers Beat Yankees 3–2, Head to ALCS vs Texas". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. October 6, 2011. Archived from the original on March 9, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
20. ^ "Notre Dame Shut Downs Army, Rolls In New Yankee Stadium Debut". Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
21. ^ Cite error: The named reference busbx was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
22. ^ ^{a b} Demause, Neil (January 2009). "Private/public Cost Breakdown for New Yankees/mets Stadiums" (PDF). Field of Schemes. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 28, 2016.
23. ^ "Yankee Stadium". Populous. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
24. ^ ^{a b} Scarangello, Thomas Z.; Squarzini, Michael J. (July 2009). "New Yankee Stadium respects its rich history". Structural Engineer. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
25. ^ "Yankee Stadium". Ballparks Munsey and Suppes. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
26. ^ "NYC baseball stadium subsidies: Do I hear $1.8B?". Field of Schemes. Archived from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.

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April 19 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, is bombed, killing 168.

Oklahoma City bombing

1995 terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City

On April 19, 1995, American anti-government extremist Timothy McVeigh, assisted by Terry Nichols, detonated a makeshift bomb stored in a rental truck parked in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in an act of domestic terrorism. The explosion killed 167 people, injured 684, and destroyed more than a third of the building. The attack also destroyed or damaged 324 other buildings, destroyed 86 vehicles and caused an estimated $652 million in damage. During rescue operations after the bombing, a rescue worker was killed after being struck on the head by falling debris, bringing the total death toll to 168.

Within 90 minutes of the explosion, McVeigh was stopped by Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Charlie Hanger for driving without a front license plate and arrested for illegal weapons possession. Forensic evidence quickly linked McVeigh and Nichols to the attack; within days, both men were charged. Michael and Lori Fortier were later identified as accomplices. McVeigh, a combat veteran of the Gulf War, rented a Ryder truck, which he later filled with the explosives used in the attack. Nichols had assisted McVeigh in planning the attack, and in making the bomb. McVeigh and Nichols were primarily motivated by their anger at the U.S. federal government, particularly its handling of the law enforcement sieges at Ruby Ridge in 1992 and Waco in 1993, as well as the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban. McVeigh had timed the retaliatory attack to coincide with the second anniversary of the end of the siege in Waco and the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first engagements of the American Revolutionary War.

The official Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report on the bombing, referred to as "OKBOMB", involved 28,000 interviews, 7,100 lbs (3,200 kg) of evidence, and nearly one billion pieces of information. When the FBI raided McVeigh's home, they found a telephone number that led them to a farm where McVeigh had purchased supplies for the bombing. The bombers were tried and convicted in 1997. McVeigh was sentenced to death; he was executed via lethal injection on June 11, 2001, at the U.S. federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Nichols was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In response to the bombing, U.S. Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, which limited access to habeas corpus in the United States, among other provisions. It also passed legislation to increase the protection around federal buildings to deter future terrorist attacks. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history and was the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history until the September 11 attacks.
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April 20: 1978 - Korean Air Flight 902 shot down by Soviets.

Korean Air Flight 902

Redirect to:

• Korean Air Lines Flight 902

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April 21: 753 BC - Romulus and Remus found Rome

Romulus and Remus

Twin brothers and central characters of Rome's foundation myth

This article is about the tale of the mythical twins. For other uses, see Romulus (disambiguation), Remus (disambiguation), and Romulus and Remus (disambiguation).

In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (Latin: [ˈroːmʊlʊs], [ˈrɛmʊs]) are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf suckling the twins in their infancy has been a symbol of the city of Rome and the ancient Romans since at least the 3rd century BC. Although the tale takes place before the founding of Rome in 753 BC, the earliest known written account of the myth is from the late 3rd century BC. Possible historical bases for the story, and interpretations of its local variants, are subjects of ongoing debate.

1. ^ Adriano La Regina, "La lupa del Campidoglio è medievale la prova è nel test al carbonio". La Repubblica. 9 July 2008

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April 22: 1509 - Henry VIII ascends the throne of England after the death of his father.

Henry VIII of England

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• Henry VIII

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April 23: 1985 - Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. (The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than 3 months.)

New Coke

"Coke 2" redirects here; not to be confused with Coca-Cola C2.

1985 reformulation of Coca-Cola

New Coke was the informal name given to a reformulated version of the soft drink Coca-Cola, introduced by the Coca-Cola Company in the United States in April 1985. It was renamed Coke II in 1990^[1] and was discontinued in July 2002. By 1985, Coca-Cola had been losing market share to diet soft drinks and non-cola beverages for several years. Blind taste tests indicated that consumers preferred the sweeter taste of rival Pepsi-Cola, leading the company to reformulate its product.

The change was met with widespread negative public reaction, and New Coke came to be regarded as a significant marketing failure. Within three months, the Coca-Cola Company reintroduced the original formula under the name "Coca-Cola Classic", which produced a notable increase in sales. The reversal prompted speculation that the formula change had been a deliberate strategy to revive interest in the original product, an interpretation the company has consistently disputed.^[2] The episode generated lasting discussion about brand identity and consumer attachment, and gave rise to several conspiracy theories regarding the company's motives. Analyses of the taste-test methodology used during the product's development have also been a subject of ongoing debate.

New Coke was briefly reintroduced in 2019 in limited quantities as a promotional tie-in for the Netflix series Stranger Things. New Coke is widely cited as a cautionary tale about the risks of altering a well-established and successful brand.^[3]

1. ^ Jamieson, Sean (April 5, 1990). "Coke II makes its Spokane debut". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. A8.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Snopes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Braden, Donna (April 23, 2015). ""New Coke": Success or Failure". The Henry Ford. Archived from the original on April 13, 2026. Retrieved April 13, 2026.

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April 24: 1980 - Eight U.S. servicemen died in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempted to end the Iran hostage crisis.

Operation Eagle Claw

Failed 1980 American military operation in Iran

This article is about the operation during the Iran Hostage Crisis. For the operation during the Iraq War, see Operation Eagle Claw XI.

"Operation Rice Bowl" redirects here. Not to be confused with the Catholic Relief Services program to end hunger and poverty.

"Desert One" redirects here. Not to be confused with the 2019 documentary film about Operation Eagle Claw.

Preview warning: Using more than one of the following parameters in Template:Infobox military operation: target, objective.

60km
37miles

Desert One

   

Desert 1 location in central Iran

Operation Eagle Claw (Persian: عملیات پنجه عقاب) was a failed United States Department of Defense attempt to rescue 52 embassy staff held captive by Revolutionary Iran on 24 April 1980. It was ordered by U.S. president Jimmy Carter after the staff were seized at the Embassy of the United States, Tehran. The operation, one of Delta Force's first, encountered many obstacles and failures and was subsequently aborted.^[1] Eight helicopters were sent to the first staging area in Great Salt Desert called Desert One, but only five arrived in operational condition.^[2] One had encountered hydraulic problems, another was caught in a sand storm, and the third showed signs of a cracked rotor blade. During the operational planning, it was decided that the mission would be aborted if fewer than six helicopters remained operational upon arrival at the Desert One site, despite only four being absolutely necessary.^[2] The field commanders advised President Carter to abort the mission, which he did.^[3]

As the US forces prepared to withdraw from Desert One, one of the remaining helicopters crashed into a transport aircraft that contained both servicemen and jet fuel. The resulting fire destroyed both aircraft and killed eight servicemen.^[2] In the context of the Iranian Revolution, Iran's new leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, stated that the mission had been stopped by an act of God ("agents of God") who had foiled the US mission in order to protect Iran and its new Islamist government. In turn, Carter blamed his loss in the 1980 US presidential election mainly on his failure to secure the release of the hostages. The American hostages were released the day of Ronald Reagan's inauguration.^[4]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gabriel106 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ ^{a b c} Bowden, Mark (May 2006). "The Desert One Debacle". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
3. ^ "Operation Eagle Claw, 1980: A Case Study in Crisis Management and Military Planning". Ministry of Defence of Singapore. Archived from the original on 10 November 2003.
4. ^ "Jimmy Carter: Iran hostage rescue should have and could have worked if the US was more prepared". USA Today. 17 September 2010. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2017.

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1916 - Anzac Day commemorated for the first time, on the first anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove

Anzac Day

National day of remembrance

Anzac Day^[a][b] is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".^[4][5] Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).

1. ^ ^{a b} "Rā o Ngā Hōia". Te Aka Māori Dictionary. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
2. ^ Mata, William (24 April 2025). "When is Anzac Day 2025 and why is it commemorated?". The Standard. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
3. ^ "Rā Whakamahara ki ngā Hōia o Ahitereiria me Aotearoa – te Aka Māori Dictionary". Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
4. ^ "ANZAC Day". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
5. ^ "Anzac Day Today". Anzac.govt.nz. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Archived from the original on 27 April 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.

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April 26: 1986 - In Ukraine, a nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, creating the world's worst nuclear disaster.

Chernobyl plant

Redirect to:

• Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

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April 27: 1994 - South African general election, 1994: The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote.

South_African_general_election%2C_1994

 

April 28: 1996 - In Tasmania, Australia, Martin Bryant goes on a shooting spree, killing 35 people and seriously injuring 37 more.

Martin Bryant

Australian mass murderer (born 1967)

For the programmer, see Martin Bryant (programmer).

Martin John Bryant (born 7 May 1967) is an Australian mass murderer^[1] who shot and killed 35 people and injured 23 others in the Port Arthur massacre on 28 and 29 April 1996.^[2] He is currently serving 35 life sentences, and 1,652 years without the possibility of parole, at Risdon Prison in Hobart, Tasmania.

1. ^ "Witnesses recall horror of Martin Bryant's mass shooting in Tasmania". ABC News. Port Arthur. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
2. ^ Wainwright, Robert; Totaro, Paola (27 April 2009). "A dangerous mind: What turned Martin Bryant into a mass murderer?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 12 October 2014.

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April 29: 1992 - 1992 Los Angeles riots: Riots in Los Angeles, California, follow the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 53 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.

1992 Los Angeles riots

Riots and protests following the beating of Rodney King

Los Angeles, California, experienced a series of riots and civil disturbances during April and May of 1992.^[5] Civil unrest began in South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after a jury acquitted four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King. The incident had been videotaped by George Holiday, who was a bystander to the incident, and was heavily reported on by various news and media outlets.

The rioting took place in several areas in the Los Angeles metropolitan area as thousands of people rioted over six days following the verdict's announcement. Widespread looting, assault, and arson occurred during the riots, which local police forces had difficulty controlling. The situation in the Los Angeles area was resolved after the California National Guard, United States military, and several federal law enforcement agencies deployed more than 10,000 of their armed responders to assist in ending the violence and unrest.^[6]

When the riots ended, 55 people had been killed, 11 of them by the police or National Guard,^[2][7] 2,383 had been injured, more than 12,000 had been arrested, and estimates of property damage were over $1 billion, making it the most destructive period of local unrest in US history. Koreatown, situated just to the north of South Central LA, was disproportionately damaged because of racial tensions between the Black and Korean communities. Much of the blame for the extensive nature of the violence was attributed to LAPD chief of police Daryl Gates, who had already announced his resignation by the time of the riots, for failure to de-escalate the situation and overall mismanagement.^[8][9]

1. ^ Mydans, Seth (May 3, 1992). "RIOT IN LOS ANGLES [sic]: Pocket of Tension; A Target of Rioters, Koreatown is Bitter, Armed and Determined". The New York Times.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Deaths during the L.A. riots". Los Angeles Times.
3. ^ Harris, Paul (1999). Black Rage Confronts the Law. NYU Press. p. 186. ISBN 9780814735923. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
4. ^ Rayner, Richard (1998). The Granta Book of Reportage. Granta Books. p. 424. ISBN 9781862071933. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
5. ^ (also called the Rodney King Riots)"When LA Erupted In Anger: A Look Back At The Rodney King Riots". NPR. April 26, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
6. ^ "Trump invoking Insurrection Act could undo years of police reform, experts warn". NBC News. June 4, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
7. ^ Miranda, Carolina A. (April 28, 2017). "Of the 63 people killed during '92 riots, 23 deaths remain unsolved – artist Jeff Beall is mapping where they fell". Los Angeles Times.
8. ^ Cannon, Lou; Lee, Gary (May 2, 1992). "Much Of Blame Is Laid On Chief Gates". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
9. ^ Mydans, Seth (October 22, 1992). "Failures of City Blamed for Riot In Los Angeles". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.

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30 April: 1975 - Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Duong Van Minh.

Fall of Saigon

End of the Vietnam War, 30 April 1975

Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, was captured by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. This caused the evacuation of thousands of civilians and U.S. personnel, and ended the Vietnam War. The aftermath ushered in a transition period under the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam until the formal reunification in 1976.^[3]

As part of the 1975 spring offensive, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and the Viet Cong (VC) auxiliaries, under the command of General Văn Tiến Dũng, began their final attack on Saigon on 29 April 1975, with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) commanded by General Nguyễn Văn Toàn suffering a heavy artillery bombardment. By the next day, President Minh had surrendered while the PAVN/VC had occupied the important points of the city and raised the VC flag over the South Vietnamese Presidential Palace, ending the existence of South Vietnam and its predecessor (1949–1975). For the first time since 1954, Vietnam was unified under a single regime.^[4]

The capture of the city was preceded by Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of almost all American civilian and military personnel in Saigon, along with tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians who had been associated with the government. A small number of Americans chose not to be evacuated. United States ground combat units had left South Vietnam more than two years before the fall of Saigon and were not available to assist with either the defense or the evacuation of Saigon.^[5] The evacuation was the largest helicopter evacuation in history.^[6]: 202 In addition to the flight of refugees, the institution of new rules by the communist government contributed to a decline in the city's population until 1979.^[7]

On 2 July 1976, the reunification was formalized and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was established with the capital in Hanoi. The same day, the Vietnamese National Assembly renamed Saigon Ho Chi Minh City after Ho Chi Minh, the North Vietnamese president who died in 1969.^[8]

1. ^ Ho Chi Minh Campaign (30 April 1975) (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Hồ Chí Minh lịch sử (30/4/1975))
2. ^ "Trận chiến bi hùng của Bộ đội xe tăng Trung đoàn 273: 9 xe bị bắn cháy ngay trước giờ toàn thắng". Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
3. ^ Walsh, Kenneth T. (30 April 2015). "The U.S. and Vietnam: 40 Years After the Fall of Saigon". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018..
4. ^ "Vietnam - Countries - Office of the Historian".
5. ^ Multiple sources:
   • "Last American Ground Combat Unit Is Deactivated in South Vietnam". The New York Times. 12 August 1972. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
   • John J. Valdez. "The Last to Leave". fallofsaigon.org. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015. I think we got all the Americans out who wanted to leave. Some of them elected to stay there, mostly reporters. (originally published in the May 1975 issue of Leatherneck Magazine)
   • Krich, Claudia (3 May 2015). "Eyewitness to the 'fall' of Vietnam: It was not a bloodbath". The Davis Enterprise. p. B5. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015. (The article describes the experiences of three American women who stayed in Saigon)
   • Laurie, Jim. "Vietnam 2015 – 40 years on". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. (Article by an American journalist who chose not to be evacuated)
   • "Americans who stayed on may be source of sightings". New Straits Times. 3 August 1991. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. (Article asserting that about 70 Americans stayed behind and containing details of some individual cases)
   • "The Last Days in Vietnam". Movie review. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015. This is a story about a few brave, good people who stayed behind in order to not leave anyone behind. (mentions NBC correspondents Jim Laurie and Neil Davis who stayed after the evacuation)
6. ^ Dunham, Maj. George R.; Quinlan, Col. David A. (1990). U.S. Marines in Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973–1975 (Marine Corps Vietnam Operational Histories Series) (PDF). Washington DC: History & Museums Division; Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. ISBN 978-0-16-026455-9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. ^ Desbarats, Jacqueline. "Repression in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Executions and Population Relocation", from The Vietnam Debate (1990) by John Morton Moore.
8. ^ "Quốc hội quyết nghị lấy tên nước là Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam" [The National Assembly resolved to name the country the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.]. People's Army Newspaper (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 17 August 2023.

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1 May: 1328 - Wars of Scottish Independence end: Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton – England recognises Scotland as an independent nation.

Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton

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2 May: 1946 - "Battle of Alcatraz" - Alcatraz Federal prison, San Francisco is taken over by six inmates following failed escape attempt

Battle of Alcatraz

Unsuccessful escape attempt from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1946

The Battle of Alcatraz, which lasted from May 2 to 4, 1946, was the result of an escape attempt at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary by armed convicts. Two Federal Bureau of Prisons officers—William A. Miller and Harold Stites—were killed, Miller by inmate Joseph Cretzer who attempted escape and Stites by friendly fire. Three inmates were killed during the incident.^[1] Fourteen other officers and one uninvolved convict were injured. Two prisoners were executed in 1948 for their roles.^[2]

1. ^ DeNevi, Don (1974). Alcatraz '46;: The anatomy of a classic prison tragedy. San Rafael, California: Leswing Press. p. 164. ISBN 0883392968.
2. ^ "A Brief History of Alcatraz". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 2009-06-17.

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May 3: 1979 - Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher to become United Kingdom's first female prime minister as the Labour government is ousted in parliamentary elections.

Margaret Thatcher

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990

"Iron Lady" redirects here. For other uses, see Iron Lady (disambiguation) and Margaret Thatcher (disambiguation).

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher^{[nb 2]} (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the office. As prime minister, she implemented policies that came to be known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked briefly as a research chemist before becoming a barrister. She was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970–1974 government. In 1975 she defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition and the first woman to lead a major British political party.

On becoming prime minister after winning the 1979 general election, Thatcher introduced a series of economic policies intended to reverse high inflation and Britain's struggles in the wake of the Winter of Discontent and an oncoming recession.^{[nb 3]} Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised greater individual liberty, the privatisation of state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions. Her popularity in her first years in office waned amid the recession and rising unemployment. Victory in the 1982 Falklands War and the recovering economy brought a resurgence of support, resulting in the Conservative Party being returned to government in a landslide victory in 1983. She survived an assassination attempt by the Provisional IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing and achieved a political victory against the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1984–85 miners' strike. In 1986 Thatcher oversaw the deregulation of UK financial markets, leading to an economic boom, in what came to be known as the Big Bang.

Thatcher was re-elected for a third term with another landslide in 1987, but her subsequent support for the Community Charge (also known as the "poll tax") was widely unpopular, and her increasingly Eurosceptic views on the European Community were not shared by others in her cabinet. She resigned as prime minister and party leader in 1990, after a challenge was launched to her leadership, and was succeeded by John Major, her Chancellor of the Exchequer.^{[nb 4]} After retiring from the House of Commons in 1992, she was given a life peerage, which entitled her to sit in the House of Lords. In 2013 she died of a stroke at the Ritz Hotel, London, at the age of 87.

A polarising figure in British politics, Thatcher is nonetheless viewed favourably in historical rankings and public opinion of British prime ministers. Her tenure constituted a realignment towards neoliberal policies in Britain; the complex legacy attributed to this shift continues to be debated into the 21st century.

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference telegraph8671195 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference PoliticalStuff.co.uk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Heffer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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May 4: 1924 - The 1924 Summer Olympics open in Paris, France.

1924 Summer Olympics

Multi-sport event in Paris, France

The 1924 Summer Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (French: Jeux de la VIII^e olympiade) and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had already started on 4 May. The Games were the second to be hosted by Paris (after 1900), making it the first city to host the Olympics twice.

The selection process for the 1924 Summer Olympics consisted of six bids, and Paris was selected ahead of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Prague, and Rome. The selection was made at the 20th IOC Session in Lausanne in 1921.^[2] The cost of these Games was estimated to be 10,000,000 F (equivalent to €10.1 million in 2022^[3]). With total receipts at 5,496,610 F (equivalent to €5.53 million in 2022), the Olympics resulted in a hefty loss despite daily crowds of up to 60,000.^[4] The United States won the most gold and overall medals, having 229 athletes competing compared to France's 401. This would be the last Summer Games hosted by France until 2024.

1. ^ "Factsheet - Opening Ceremony of the Games f the Olympiad" (PDF) (Press release). International Olympic Committee. 13 September 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
2. ^ "Past Olympic host city election results". GamesBids. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
3. ^ 1262 to 1789 Leonardo Ridolfi, The French economy in the longue durée: a study on real wages, working days and economic performance from Louis IX to the Revolution (1250–1789), Ridolfi, L. (2019). Six Centuries of Real Wages in France from Louis IX to Napoleon III: 1250–1860. The Journal of Economic History, 79(3), 589-627. 1798 to 1809: Mitchell, B. R. (Brian R.). (1975). European historical statistics, 1750–1970. New York: Columbia University Press, 1810 to 1903: Sauvy, Alfred. Variations des prix de 1810 à nos jours. Journal de la société française de statistique, Volume 93 (1952), pp. 88-104 1904 to 2022: Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Coefficient de transformation de l'euro ou du franc d'une année, en euro ou en franc d'une autre année – Base 2015 – Série utilisée par le convertisseur franc-euro – Identifiant 010605954
4. ^ Zarnowski, C. Frank (Summer 1992). "A Look at Olympic Costs" (PDF). Citius, Altius, Fortius. 1 (1): 16–32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.

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May 5; 1494 - Christopher Columbus discovers the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.

Christopher Columbus

Italian navigator and explorer (1451–1506)

"Cristoforo Colombo" and "Admiral of the Ocean Sea" redirect here. For his direct descendant, see Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal, 18th Duke of Veragua. For other uses, see Christopher Columbus (disambiguation) and Cristoforo Colombo (disambiguation).

Christopher Columbus^[b] (/kəˈlʌmbəs/;^[2] between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italian^[3][c] explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa^[3][4] who completed four Spanish transatlantic voyages in the name of the Catholic Monarchs, opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of the Americas. His expeditions were the first known European contact with the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The name Christopher Columbus is the anglicization of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Growing up on the coast of Liguria, he went to sea at a young age and traveled widely, as far north as the British Isles and as far south as what is now Ghana. He married Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, who bore a son, Diego, and was based in Lisbon for several years. He later took a Castilian mistress, Beatriz Enríquez de Arana, who bore a son, Ferdinand.^[5][6][7]

Largely self-educated, Columbus was knowledgeable in geography, astronomy, and history. He developed a plan to seek a western sea passage to the East Indies, hoping to profit from the lucrative spice trade. After the Granada War, and Columbus's persistent lobbying in multiple kingdoms, the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II, agreed to sponsor a journey west. Columbus left the Port of Palos in August 1492 with three ships and made landfall in the Americas on 12 October, ending the period of human habitation in the Americas now referred to as the pre-Columbian era. His landing place was an island in the Bahamas, known by its native inhabitants as Guanahani. He then visited the islands now known as Cuba and Hispaniola, establishing a colony in what is now Haiti. Columbus returned to Castile in early 1493, with captured natives. Word of his voyage soon spread throughout Europe.

Columbus made three further voyages to the Americas, exploring the Lesser Antilles in 1493, Trinidad and the northern coast of South America in 1498, and the east coast of Central America in 1502. Many of the names given to geographical features by Columbus, particularly the names of islands, are still in use. He gave the name indios ('Indians') to the Indigenous peoples he encountered. The extent to which he was aware that the Americas were a wholly separate landmass is uncertain; he never clearly renounced his belief he had reached the Far East. As a colonial governor, Columbus was accused by some of his contemporaries of significant brutality and removed from the post. Columbus's strained relationship with the Crown of Castile and its colonial administrators in America led to his arrest and removal from Hispaniola in 1500, and later to protracted litigation over the privileges he and his heirs claimed were owed to them by the Crown.

Columbus's expeditions inaugurated a period of exploration, conquest, and colonization that lasted for centuries, thus bringing the Americas into the European sphere of influence. The transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and New World that followed his first voyage are known as the Columbian exchange, named after him. These events and the effects which persist to the present are often cited as the beginning of the modern era.^[8][9] Diseases introduced from the Old World contributed to the genocide of Hispaniola's Indigenous peoples, who were also subject to enslavement and other mistreatments by Columbus's government. Increased public awareness of these interactions has led to Columbus being less celebrated in Western culture, which has historically idealized him as a heroic discoverer. Numerous places have been named for him.

1. ^ Lester, Paul M. (January 1993). "Looks are deceiving: The portraits of Christopher Columbus". Visual Anthropology. 5 (3–4): 211–227. doi:10.1080/08949468.1993.9966590. ISSN 0894-9468.
2. ^ "Columbus". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
3. ^ ^{a b} Delaney, Carol (2011). Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem. Free Press/Simon and Schuster. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-4391-0237-4.
4. ^ ^{a b} Flint, Valerie I. J. (16 May 2021). "Christopher Columbus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
5. ^ Fernández-Armesto, Felipe (2010). Columbus on Himself. Hackett. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-60384-317-1. The date of Fernando's birth, November 1488, gives a terminus ante quem early in that year for the start of Columbus's liaison with Beatriz Enríquez. She was of peasant parentage, but, when Columbus met her, was the ward of a well-to-do relative in Cordoba. A meat business gave her income of her own, mentioned in the only other record of Columbus's solicitude for her: a letter to Diego, written in 1502, just before departure on the fourth Atlantic crossing, in which the explorer enjoins his son to 'take Beatriz Enriquez in your care for love of me, as you your own mother'. Varela, Cristóbal Colón, p. 309.
6. ^ Taviani, Paolo Emilio (2016). "Beatriz de Arana". In Bedini, Silvio A. (ed.). The Christopher Columbus Encyclopedia. Springer. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-1-349-12573-9. Columbus never married Beatriz. When he returned from the first voyage, he was given the greatest of honors and elevated to the highest position in Spain. Because of his discovery, he became one of the most illustrious persons at the Spanish court and had to submit, like all the great persons of the time, to customary legal restrictions on matters of marriage and extramarital relations. The Alphonsine laws forbade extramarital relations of concubinage for "illustrious people" (king, princes, dukes, counts, marquis) with plebeian women, if they themselves were or their forefathers had been of inferior social condition.
7. ^ Phillips & Phillips 1992, p. 126.
8. ^ Dowlah, Caf (2020). Cross-Border Labor Mobility: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-3-030-36506-6. Most researchers however trace the beginning of the early modern era to Christopher Columbus's discovery of the Americas in the 1490s
9. ^ Mills, Keneth and Taylor, William B., Colonial Spanish America: A Documentary History, p. 36, SR Books, 1998, ISBN 0-8420-2573-1

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May 5: 1954 - Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.

Roger Bannister

English athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile (1929–2018)

Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile.

At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and finished in fourth place. This achievement strengthened his resolve to become the first athlete to finish the mile run in under four minutes. He accomplished this feat on 6 May 1954 at Iffley Road track in Oxford, with Chris Chataway and Chris Brasher providing the pacing. When the announcer, Norris McWhirter, declared "The time was three...", the cheers of the crowd drowned out Bannister's exact time, which was 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He had attained this record with minimal training, while practising as a junior doctor. Bannister's record lasted just 46 days.

Bannister went on to become a neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, before retiring in 1993. When asked whether the 4-minute mile was his proudest achievement, he said he felt prouder of his contribution to academic medicine through research into the responses of the nervous system. Bannister was patron of the MSA Trust. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2011.^[3][4]

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Roger Bannister at sports-reference.com". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
2. ^ All-Athletics. "Profile of Roger Bannister". Archived from the original on 4 April 2016.
3. ^ Sale, Jerome (2 May 2014). "Sir Roger Bannister reveals Parkinson's disease battle". BBC News.
4. ^ "Obituary for Roger Bannister". The Herald. Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland. 5 March 2018. p. 18. Retrieved 19 May 2025.

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May 7: 2007 - The tomb of Herod the Great is discovered.

Herod the Great

1st-century BCE king of Judea

This article is about the Roman-appointed king of Judea. For other uses, see Herod, Herod the Great (film), and Herod the Great (play).

Herod I^[2][a] or Herod the Great (c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE) was a Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea.^[3][4][5] He is known for his colossal building projects. Among these works are the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the expansion of its base^[6][7][8]—the Western Wall being part of it. Many of the crucial details of his life are recorded in the works of the 1st century CE Roman–Jewish historian Josephus.^[9]

Despite Herod's successes, including forging a new aristocracy,^[10] he has been criticized by various historians. Some consider his reign to have been tyrannical.^[9]

Herod the Great is described in the Christian Bible as the coordinator of the Massacre of the Innocents. Most other New Testament references to 'Herod' are either to his son Herod Antipas (such as the events leading to the executions of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth in Matthew 14), or his grandson Herod Agrippa (in Acts 12). Upon Herod's death, the Romans divided his kingdom among three of his sons and his sister: his son Herod Antipas received the tetrarchy of Galilee and Peraea.

Other family members of Herod the Great include Herod's son Herod Archelaus, who became ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Herod's son Philip who became tetrarch of territories north and east of the Jordan River; and Herod's sister Salome I, who was given a toparchy including the cities of Jabneh, Ashdod, and Fasayil (Phasaelis).

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Steinmann2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Bayer; Jacobs & Broydé 1906.
3. ^ Perowne 2003, pp. 92–93.
4. ^ Peters, Francis E. (2005). The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition: The Words and Will of God The Words And Will of God. Vol. II. Princeton University Press.
5. ^ Kasher, Aryeh; Witztum, Eliezer (2007). King Herod: a persecuted persecutor: a case study in psychohistory and psychobiography. Translated by Gold, Karen. Walter de Gruyter.
6. ^ Antiquities of the Jews, 15.11.6.
7. ^ Cf. Babylonian Talmud (Ta'anit 23a). Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple sanctuary and expanded the Temple Mount at its north side around the older Temple courts, and "enclosed an area double the former size." Formerly, according to the Mishnah (Middot 2:1), the Temple Mount had measured 500 × 500 cubits square, and its expansion was done to accommodate the pilgrims.
8. ^ The Jewish War, 1.21.1.
9. ^ ^{a b} Schwartz, Seth (2014). "Herod to Florus". The Ancient Jews from Alexander to Muhammad. Cambridge University Press. pp. 59–62. ISBN 978-1-107-04127-1.
10. ^ Cohen 1999, p. 269.

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May 7: 1886 - Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that would later be named "Coca-Cola".

John Styth Pemberton

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• John Stith Pemberton

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May 9: 1941 - World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.

Enigma cryptography machine

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• Enigma machine

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May 10: 1908 - Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States - in Grafton, West Virginia.

Mother%27s_Day

 

May 11: 1997 - IBM Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player.

IBM Deep Blue

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• Deep Blue (chess computer)

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May 12: 1942 - 1,500 Jews are sent to gas chambers in Auschwitz.

Auschwitz

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• Auschwitz concentration camp

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May 13: 1958 - Velcro's trade mark is registered

Velcro

Type of textile fastener

For the manufacturer, see Velcro Companies.

Not to be confused with Hook-and-eye closure.

Hooks

Loops

Velcro Hook and Loop Fastener, commonly known as Velcro (a trademarked term^[1][2] that the manufacturer renders in all-capital letters as VELCRO),^[3] hook-and-pile fasteners or touch fasteners are versatile fastening devices that allow two surfaces to be repeatedly attached and detached with ease. Invented in the mid-20th century, they are widely used in clothing, accessories, and various industrial and consumer applications. The fastener consists of two complementary components: one with tiny hooks and the other with soft loops. When pressed together, the hooks catch the loops, creating a secure but temporary bond. The fasteners can be separated by peeling or pulling the surfaces apart, often producing a distinctive ripping sound.

1. ^ "Teflon, "Gunk," & More: Products That Became Words Top 10 Words from Trademarks, Vol. 2". Wordplay > Word History. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
2. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/24/smarter-living/how-a-brand-name-becomes-generic.html
3. ^ https://www.velcro.com/original-thinking/the-velcro-brand-trademark-guidelines/

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14 May: 1948 - Israel declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel was attacked by the neighboring Arab states. The War of Independence begins.

Israel

Country in West Asia

This article is about the country. For the region, see Land of Israel. For other uses, see Israel (disambiguation).

Israel,^[a] officially the State of Israel,^[b] is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel's western coast lies on the Mediterranean Sea, its southern tip reaches the Red Sea, and to the east is Earth's lowest point near the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is the government seat and proclaimed capital,^[23] while Tel Aviv is Israel's largest urban area and economic centre.

The Land of Israel, also called Palestine or the Holy Land, was home to the ancient Canaanites and later the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and Hasmonean Judea. Located near continental crossroads, its demographics shifted under various empires. 19th-century European antisemitism fuelled the Zionist movement for a Jewish homeland, which gained British support with the 1917 Balfour Declaration. After World War I, Britain occupied the region and established Mandatory Palestine. British rule and Jewish immigration in the leadup to the Holocaust intensified Arab-Jewish tensions,^[24][25] which escalated into a civil war after the 1947 United Nations (UN) Partition Plan.

Israel declared independence as the British Mandate ended on 14 May 1948, followed by an invasion by Arab states. The 1949 armistice expanded Israel beyond the UN plan,^[26] while no new Arab state was created, leaving Gaza under Egyptian control and the West Bank ruled by Jordan.^[26][27][28] Most Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled during the Nakba,^[29][30][31] while Israeli independence prompted antisemitism in the Arab world and Jewish exodus therefrom, mainly to Israel.^[32][33] After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and Egyptian Sinai, and annexed East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights. Peace treaties were signed with Egypt in 1979 (the Sinai being returned in 1982) and Jordan in 1994. The 1993 Oslo Accords introduced limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza, while the 2020 Abraham Accords normalised ties with more Arab states, but the Israeli–Palestinian conflict persists. Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories has drawn international criticism, with experts calling its actions war crimes and crimes against humanity. After the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, Israel began committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.^[34] Israel and its allies, including the United States, deny that Israel's actions constitute genocide.^[35][36][37]

The Basic Laws of Israel establish the Knesset as a proportionally elected parliament. It shapes the government, led by the prime minister, and elects the largely ceremonial president.^[38] Israel has one of the Middle East's largest economies,^[39] one of Asia's highest living standards, and globally ranks 25th in nominal GDP and 14th in nominal GDP per capita.^[20][40] One of the world's most technologically advanced countries,^[41] Israel allocates a larger share of its economy to research and development than any other state^[42][43] and is believed to possess nuclear weapons. The only country with a revived official language, Hebrew, the culture of Israel combines Jewish traditions with Arab influences.

1. ^ "Foreign Ministry statement regarding Palestinian-Israeli settlement". mid.ru. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
2. ^ "Czech Republic announces it recognizes West Jerusalem as Israel's capital". The Jerusalem Post. 6 December 2017. Archived from the original on 3 March 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2017. The Czech Republic currently, before the peace between Israel and Palestine is signed, recognizes Jerusalem to be in fact the capital of Israel in the borders of the demarcation line from 1967." The Ministry also said that it would only consider relocating its embassy based on "results of negotiations.
3. ^ "Javier Milei on his first diplomatic visit to Israel as President of Argentina". Retrieved 28 November 2025.
4. ^ "Honduras recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital". The Times of Israel. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
5. ^ "Guatemala se suma a EEUU y también trasladará su embajada en Israel a Jerusalén" [Guatemala joins US, will also move embassy to Jerusalem]. Infobae (in Spanish). 24 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2017. Guatemala's embassy was located in Jerusalem until the 1980s, when it was moved to Tel Aviv.
6. ^ "Nauru recognizes J'lem as capital of Israel". Israel National News. 29 August 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
7. ^ "Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's Capital and Orders U.S. Embassy to Move". The New York Times. 6 December 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
8. ^ The Legal Status of East Jerusalem (PDF), Norwegian Refugee Council, December 2013, pp. 8, 29, archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2021, retrieved 26 October 2021
9. ^ "Constitution for Israel". knesset.gov.il. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
10. ^ "Israel Passes 'National Home' Law, Drawing Ire of Arabs". The New York Times. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
11. ^ Lubell, Maayan (19 July 2018). "Israel adopts divisive Jewish nation-state law". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
12. ^ "Arabic in Israel: an official language and a cultural bridge". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 18 December 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
13. ^ Population, by Population Group (PDF). Monthly Bulletin of Statistics (Report). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 14 August 2025. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
14. ^ Population Of Israelis, by Religion (PDF). Statistical Abstract of Israel (Report). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 30 December 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
15. ^ "Israel". Central Intelligence Agency. 27 February 2023. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2023 – via CIA.gov.
16. ^ "Israel country profile". BBC News. 24 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
17. ^ "Surface water and surface water change". OECD.Stat. OECD. Archived from the original on 24 March 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
18. ^ "Time Series DataBank". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
19. ^ "Geographic Areas – Nationwide". 2022 Population Census Data. Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
20. ^ ^{a b c d e} "World Economic Outlook Database (April 2026 Edition)". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. 14 April 2026. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
21. ^ "Gini Index coefficient". The World Factbook. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
22. ^ "Human Development Report 2025" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 6 May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2025. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
23. ^ Akram, Susan M., Michael Dumper, Michael Lynk, and Iain Scobbie, eds. 2010. International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Rights-Based Approach to Middle East Peace. Routledge. p. 119: "UN General Assembly Resolution 181 recommended the creation of an international zone, or corpus separatum, in Jerusalem to be administered by the UN for a 10-year period, after which there would be a referendum to determine its future. This approach applies equally to West and East Jerusalem and is not affected by the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967. To a large extent it is this approach that still guides the diplomatic behaviour of states and thus has greater force in international law."
24. ^ Morris, Benny (1999). Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–2001 (reprint ed.). Knopf. ISBN 978-0-679-74475-7. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024. The fear of territorial displacement and dispossession was to be the chief motor of Arab antagonism to Zionism down to 1948 (and indeed after 1967 as well). Also quoted, among many, by Mark M. Ayyash (2019). Hermeneutics of Violence: A Four-Dimensional Conception. University of Toronto Press, p. 195 Archived 22 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine, ISBN 978-1-4875-0586-8. Accessed 22 March 2024.
25. ^ Fildis, Ayse; Nisanci, Ensar (2019). "British Colonial Policy "Divide and Rule": Fanning Arab Rivalry in Palestine" (PDF). International Journal of Islamic and Civilizational Studies. 6 (1). UTM Press. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2024. Retrieved 10 May 2024.
26. ^ ^{a b} "Zionism | Definition, History, Examples, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
27. ^ Meir-Glitzenstein, Esther (Fall 2018). "Turning Points in the Historiography of Jewish Immigration from Arab Countries to Israel". Israel Studies. 23 (3). Indiana University Press: 114–122. doi:10.2979/israelstudies.23.3.15. JSTOR 10.2979/israelstudies.23.3.15. S2CID 150208821. The mass immigration from Arab countries began in mid-1949 and included three communities that relocated to Israel almost in their entirety: 31,000 Jews from Libya, 50,000 from Yemen, and 125,000 from Iraq. Additional immigrants arrived from Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, India, and elsewhere. Within three years, the Jewish population of Israel doubled. The ethnic composition of the population shifted as well, as immigrants from Muslim counties and their offspring now comprised one third of the Jewish population—an unprecedented phenomenon in global immigration history. From 1952–60, Israel regulated and restricted immigration from Muslim countries with a selective immigration policy based on economic criteria, and sent these immigrants, most of whom were North African, to peripheral Israeli settlements. The selective immigration policy ended in 1961 when, following an agreement between Israel and Morocco, about 100,000 Jews immigrated to the State. From 1952–68 about 600,000 Jews arrived in Israel, three quarters of whom were from Arab countries and the remaining immigrants were largely from Eastern Europe. Today fewer than 30,000 remain in Muslim countries, mostly concentrated in Iran and Turkey.
28. ^ Fischbach 2008, p. 26–27.
29. ^ Slater 2020, pp. 81–92, 350, "[p. 350] It is no longer a matter of serious dispute that in the 1947–48 period—beginning well before the Arab invasion in May 1948—some 700,000 to 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from or fled their villages and homes in Israel in fear of their lives—an entirely justifiable fear, in light of massacres carried out by Zionist forces."
30. ^ Ghanim, Honaida (March 2009). "Poetics of Disaster: Nationalism, Gender, and Social Change Among Palestinian Poets in Israel After Nakba". International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society. 22 (1): 23–39 [25–26]. doi:10.1007/s10767-009-9049-9. ISSN 0891-4486. JSTOR 40608203. S2CID 144148068. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Around 750,000–900,000 Palestinians were systematically expelled from their homes and lands and about 531 villages were deliberately destroyed.
31. ^ Cleveland, William L.; Bunton, Martin (2016). A History of the Modern Middle East. Westview Press. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-429-97513-4. Not only was there no Palestinian Arab state, but the vast majority of the Arab population in the territory that became Israel-over 700,000 people-had become refugees. The Arab flight from Palestine began during the intercommunal war and was at first the normal reaction of a civilian population to nearby fighting-a temporary evacuation from the zone of combat with plans to return once hostilities ceased. However, during spring and early summer 1948, the flight of the Palestinian Arabs was transformed into a permanent mass exodus... .
32. ^ Beker, Avi (2005). "The Forgotten Narrative: Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries". Jewish Political Studies Review. 17 (3/4): 3–19. ISSN 0792-335X. JSTOR 25834637. Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
33. ^ Dinstein, Yoram (11 October 2021). Israel Yearbook on Human Rights, Volume 6 (1976). BRILL. p. 282. ISBN 978-90-04-42287-2. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
34. ^ Multiple sources:
    • "A genocide is unfolding before our eyes: History will not forgive our inaction, UN Special Committee warns General Assembly in report". OHCHR. 19 November 2024. Archived from the original on 2 October 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025. Our findings conclude that Israel's methods of war align with the characteristics of genocide
    • "Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds". OHCHR. 16 September 2025. Archived from the original on 6 December 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025. The Commission has been investigating the events on and since 7 October 2023 for the last two years, and concluded that Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces committed four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, namely killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Palestinians in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births.
    • "Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel". UN Human Rights Council. 14 August 2025. Archived from the original on 18 November 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025. para. 76: ...Israeli authorities deliberately inflicted conditions of life on the Palestinians in Gaza calculated to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in Gaza, which is an underlying act of genocide...
    • "Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" (PDF). UN Human Rights Council. 16 September 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025. Para. 233: the Commission concludes that the 'direct and public incitement to commit genocide' under article III(c) of the Genocide Convention is established. Para. 252. The Commission concludes on reasonable grounds that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have committed and are continuing to commit the following actus reus of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, namely (i) killing members of the group; (ii) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (iii) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (iv) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
    • ""More than a human can bear": Israel's systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since 7 October 2023" (PDF). UN Human Rights Council. 13 March 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025. Para. 175: The Commission concludes that the destruction of the Basma IVF clinic was a measure intended to prevent births among Palestinians in Gaza, which is a genocidal act under the Rome Statute and Genocide Convention. Para. 178: The Commission concludes that the ISF caused serious bodily and mental harm to members of this group, and deliberately inflicted conditions of life that were calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza as a group, in whole or in part, which are categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention. Para. 218: The Commission finds that the Israeli authorities have destroyed in part the reproductive capacity of the Palestinians in Gaza as a group, including by imposing measures intended to prevent births, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention. Para. 219: The harm for pregnant, lactating and new mothers is of an unprecedented scale in Gaza…The underlying acts amount to crimes against humanity and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians as a group, one of the categories of genocidal acts in the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention
    • "UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, legal analysis and recommendations on the implementation of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion, Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" (PDF). UN Human Rights Council. 18 October 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025. Para. 23: On the issue of genocide, the Commission notes the provisional measures orders issued by the Court in the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). The Commission finds that all States are on notice that Israel may be or is committing internationally wrongful acts in both its conduct in the military operations in Gaza and its unlawful occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Thus, the Commission finds that, unless States cease their aid and assistance to Israel in the commission of these acts, those States shall be deemed to be complicit in those internationally wrongful acts.
    • "Application of the Genocide Convention (Order 26 I 24)" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 26 January 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025. Para. 54: In the Court's view, the facts and circumstances mentioned above are sufficient to conclude that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it is seeking protection are plausible. This is the case with respect to the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in Article III, and the right of South Africa to seek Israel's compliance with the latter's obligations under the Convention.
    • "Application of the Genocide Convention (Order 28 III 24)" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 28 March 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025. Para. 25: …The Court also sees no reason to revisit this conclusion [referring to para. 54 & 59 of Order of 26 January 2024 that there was/is a plausible case of genocide in Gaza]. Para. 30: The Court has already observed that the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip that existed when it issued its Order of 26 January 2024 has deteriorated even further… Para. 34: …"[t]he situation of hunger, starvation and famine is a result of Israel's extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure"…
    • "Application of the Genocide Convention (Order 24 V 24)" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 24 May 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025. Para. 31-32: [reaffirms para. 25 Order of 28 March 2024 of para. 54 & 59 of Order of 26 January 2024 that there was/is a plausible case of genocide in Gaza]. Para. 47: the Court finds that the current situation arising from Israel's military offensive in Rafah entails a further risk of irreparable prejudice to the plausible rights claimed by South Africa [in their genocide case against Israel]
35. ^ Deutsch, Anthony; Sterling, Toby; Berg, Stephanie van den (12 January 2024). "Israel rejects genocide charges, tells World Court it must defend itself". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 March 2026. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
36. ^ "Biden: What's happening in Gaza is not genocide". Reuters. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
37. ^ "Trump Rejects Israel Is Committing Genocide In Gaza: 'They're In a War'". Latin Times. 4 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
38. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
39. ^ "Israel datasets". www.imf.org. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
40. ^ "30 Wealthiest Countries by Per Capita Net Worth". Yahoo Finance. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
41. ^ "Global Innovation Index (GII)". global-innovation-index. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
42. ^ Dutta, Soumitra; Lanvin, Bruno; Wunsch-Vincent, Sacha (2022). Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition. World Intellectual Property Organization. doi:10.34667/tind.46596. ISBN 978-92-805-3432-0. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
43. ^ Getzoff, Marc (9 August 2023). "Most Technologically Advanced Countries In The World 2023". Global Finance Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.

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Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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May 15: 1940 - McDonald's opened its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

McDonald's

American fast food restaurant chain

"McD" redirects here. For other uses, see MCD (disambiguation) and McDonald (disambiguation).

For technical reasons, "McDonald's #1 Store Museum" redirects here. For the museum, see McDonald's No. 1 Store Museum.

McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food restaurant chain. As of 2024, it is the second-largest by number of locations in the world, behind the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea.^[9]

Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald founded McDonald's in San Bernardino, California, in 1940 as a hamburger stand. They soon franchised the company.^[10] The Golden Arches logo was introduced in 1953.^[11] In 1955, the businessman Ray Kroc joined McDonald's as a franchise agent; he bought the company in 1961.^[12] In the years since, it has expanded internationally. Today, McDonald's has more than 40,000 restaurant locations worldwide, with around one-quarter in the US.^[13][14]

Other than food sales, McDonald's generates income through its ownership of 70% of restaurant buildings and 45% of the underlying land (which it leases to its franchisees).^[15][16] In 2018, McDonald's was the world's second-largest private employer after Walmart;^[17][18][19] most of its 1.7 million employees work in the restaurant's franchises.^[18][19]

McDonald's bestselling licensed items are their french fries and Big Mac hamburgers;^[20] other fare includes cheeseburgers, chicken, fish, fruit, and salads. McDonald's has been criticized for its foods' nutrition, animal welfare and low worker wages.^[21]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

1. ^ Purdy, Chase (April 25, 2017). "McDonald's isn't just a fast-food chain—it's a brilliant $30 billion real-estate company". Quartz. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
2. ^ Maze, Jonathan (February 26, 2015). "Why McDonald's won't ever get rid of its real estate". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
3. ^ "Enrique Hernandez, Jr". McDonalds.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
4. ^ Bomkamp, Samantha (June 13, 2016). "Mcdonald's HQ Move Is Boldest Step Yet in Effort to Transform Itself". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference FY21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. ^ "Why You're Technically Not Able To Order A Milkshake At McDonald's". Daily Meal. September 9, 2023. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
7. ^ "MCDONALDS CORP, 10-K". February 22, 2019. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
8. ^ "McDonald's Corporation 2025 Annual Report Form (10-K)". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. February 24, 2026. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
9. ^ "McDonald's loses crown as world's biggest fast-food chain to global giant with zero U.S. locations; here's all about the company that dethroned it". The Economic Times. March 7, 2025. Archived from the original on March 7, 2025. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
12. ^ "Who Made America? | Innovators | Ray Kroc". www.pbs.org. Archived from the original on May 22, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
13. ^ Heady, Jaylen (April 20, 2024). "How Many McDonald's Restaurants Are There In The World?". yahoo!finance.
14. ^ "Number of McDonald's locations in the USA in 2025". ScrapeHero. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
15. ^ Budzyn, Dan (September 13, 2022). "Who Owns More Land: Bill Gates, McDonald's or The Catholic Church?". Yahoo! Finance. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
16. ^ Purdy, Chase (April 25, 2017). "McDonald's isn't just a fast-food chain—it's a brilliant $30 billion real-estate company". Quartz. Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
17. ^ "McDonald's". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
18. ^ ^{a b} "The World's Largest Employers". WorldAtlas. February 15, 2018. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
19. ^ ^{a b} "The world's 10 largest employers will surprise you". www.cnbc.com. June 29, 2018. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
20. ^ Harris, William (April 7, 2009). "10 Most Popular McDonald's Menu Items of All Time". HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
21. ^ "Britannica Money". www.britannica.com. May 1, 2025. Archived from the original on May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.

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1966 - The Communist Party of China issued the 'May 16 Notice', marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.

Cultural Revolution

Period of sociopolitical turmoil in China (1966–1976)

This article is about the movement in China. For events elsewhere also called the "Cultural Revolution", see Cultural Revolution (disambiguation). For revolutions in culture generally, see List of cultural, intellectual, philosophical and technological revolutions.

The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by CCP chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society.

In May 1966, with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group, Mao launched the revolution and said that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society with the aim of restoring capitalism. Mao called on young people to bombard the headquarters, and proclaimed that "to rebel is justified". Mass upheaval began in Beijing with Red August in 1966. Many young people, mainly students, responded by forming cadres of Red Guards throughout the country. Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung became revered within his cult of personality. In 1967, emboldened radicals rebelled and began seizing power from local governments and party branches, establishing new revolutionary committees in their place while smashing public security, procuratorate and judicial systems. These committees often split into rival factions, precipitating armed clashes among the radicals. After the fall of Lin Biao in 1971, the Gang of Four became influential in 1972, and the revolution continued until Mao's death in 1976, soon followed by the arrest of the Gang of Four.

The Cultural Revolution was characterized by violence and chaos across Chinese society. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, typically ranging from 1 to 2 million, including a massacre in Guangxi that included acts of cannibalism, as well as massacres in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Hunan.^[1][2] Red Guards sought to destroy the Four Olds (old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits), which often took the form of destroying historical artifacts and cultural and religious sites. Tens of millions were persecuted, including senior officials such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Peng Dehuai; millions were persecuted for being members of the Five Black Categories, with intellectuals and scientists labelled as the Stinking Old Ninth. The country's schools and universities were closed, and the National College Entrance Examinations were cancelled. Over 10 million youth from urban areas were relocated under the Down to the Countryside Movement.

In December 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the new paramount leader of China, replacing Mao's successor Hua Guofeng. Deng and his allies introduced the Boluan Fanzheng program and initiated the reform and opening up, which, together with the New Enlightenment movement, gradually dismantled the ideology of the Cultural Revolution. In 1981, the Communist Party publicly acknowledged numerous failures of the Cultural Revolution, declaring it "responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the people, the country, and the party since the founding of the People's Republic." Given its broad scope and social impact, memories and perspectives of the Cultural Revolution are varied and complex in contemporary China. It is often referred to as the "ten years of chaos" (十年动乱; shí nián dòngluàn) or "ten years of havoc" (十年浩劫; shí nián hàojié).^[3][4]

1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Song-2011a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
2. ^ Wang, Youqin (2001). "Student Attacks Against Teachers: The Revolution of 1966" (PDF). The University of Chicago. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 December 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
3. ^ "Translation Glossary for the CR/10 Project" (PDF). University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
4. ^ Lu, Xing (2004). Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: The Impact on Chinese Thought. p. 2. Known to the Chinese as the ten years of chaos [...]

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