Monthly Archives: April 2026

Missing H-bomb recovered intact after 80 days off Spanish coast 60 years ago this hour (Apr 7 1966)


Video: 'The Palomares Incident | Plane Crash Documentary'

(Thursday, April 7, 1966, embassy in Madrid received the word at 10:33 a.m. Central European Time; during the Cold War) — After an 80-day operation, the U.S. Navy today finally recovered the hydrogen bomb that the U.S. Air Force had lost off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea following a B-52 crash. Continue reading Missing H-bomb recovered intact after 80 days off Spanish coast 60 years ago this hour (Apr 7 1966)

The Beatles begin recording seventh studio album 60 years ago this hour (Apr 6 1966)


Video: 'Tomorrow Never Knows (Take 1 - Remastered)'

(Wednesday, April 6, 1966, 8:00 p.m.-1:15 a.m. BST) — The English rock band The Beatles began recording their seventh studio album Revolver this evening at EMI Studio 3 in London, tracking the first three takes of John Lennon’s “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Continue reading The Beatles begin recording seventh studio album 60 years ago this hour (Apr 6 1966)

Elvis Presley signs film contract with Paramount Pictures 70 years ago today (Apr 6 1956)


Video: 'Elvis Presley Blue Suede Shoes Screen Test Paramount Studios 1956'

(Friday, April 6, 1956) — Paramount Pictures signed Elvis Presley to a three-movie contract today just a few days after his first screen test.

First international Olympic Games in modern history opens in Athens 130 years ago this hour (Apr 6 1896)


Video: 'Olympic Games, Athens, 1896'

(Easter Monday, April 6, 1896, around 3:00 p.m. Athens Mean Time) — The opening ceremonies of the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first international Olympic Games held in modern history, were held today in Athens as King George I of Greece and a crowd of 80,000 spectators welcomed 241 athletes from 14 nations to the international competition (which continued through Apr. 15, 1896). Continue reading First international Olympic Games in modern history opens in Athens 130 years ago this hour (Apr 6 1896)

Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes dies on emergency flight en route to Houston 50 years ago this hour (Apr 5 1976)


Video: 'The death of Houston billionaire Howard Hughes'

(Monday, April 5, 1976, 1:27 p.m. CST) — American business tycoon, entrepreneur, investor, aviator, aerospace engineer, inventor, filmmaker and philanthropist Howard Hughes, 70, died today of kidney failure on board an aircraft en route from his penthouse at the Acapulco Fairmont Princess Hotel in Mexico to the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. Continue reading Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes dies on emergency flight en route to Houston 50 years ago this hour (Apr 5 1976)

‘R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.’ by John Cougar Mellencamp peaks at #2 in USA 40 years ago today (Apr 5 1986)

(Saturday, April 5, 1986) — “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” by John Cougar Mellencamp peaked at #2 on today’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for one week. Continue reading ‘R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.’ by John Cougar Mellencamp peaks at #2 in USA 40 years ago today (Apr 5 1986)

‘Calling America’ by Electric Light Orchestra peaks at #18 in USA 40 years ago today (Apr 5 1986)

(Saturday, April 5, 1986) — “Calling America” by Electric Light Orchestra peaked at #18 on today’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for one week. Continue reading ‘Calling America’ by Electric Light Orchestra peaks at #18 in USA 40 years ago today (Apr 5 1986)

‘The Soiling of Old Glory’ photograph taken in Boston 50 years ago today (Apr 5 1976)


Video: 'When Old Glory was turned into a weapon'

(Monday, April 5, 1976, late morning EST) — During an outdoor demonstration against court-ordered school busing in Boston, a white teenager swung a pole holding an American flag at a black attorney in a scene captured in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph now known as The Soiling of Old Glory, taken by Stanley Forman of the Boston Herald American.

‘All the President’s Men’ opens in Washington, DC 50 years ago this hour (Apr 4 1976)


Video: 'All the President's Men' trailer

(Sunday, April 4, 1976, 8:30 p.m. EST)All the President’s Men, a political thriller film about two journalists (Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward) investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post, premiered tonight in the Eisenhower Theatre at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as a benefit for the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Continue reading ‘All the President’s Men’ opens in Washington, DC 50 years ago this hour (Apr 4 1976)

3 killed, 229 injured in bomb explosion at club in Berlin 40 years ago this hour (Apr 5 1986)


Video: 'West Berlin La Belle Discoteque Bombing reports - ABC News April 5 & 7 1986'

(Saturday, April 5, 1986, 1:45 a.m. Central European Time) — A bomb ripped through a West Berlin discotheque popular with American troops early today, killing two American servicemen and a Turkish woman and injuring another 229 people, an incident which prompted a U.S. air raid on Libya more than a week later. Continue reading 3 killed, 229 injured in bomb explosion at club in Berlin 40 years ago this hour (Apr 5 1986)