Amphibious Assault

U.S. troops land on Okinawa

Born on This Day

51st Annual Thalians Ball - Arrivals

Debbie Reynolds

1932 - 2016

Star of Hollywood classics like "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." Mother of "Star Wars" star Carrie Fisher.

Abraham Harold Maslow, Psychologist

Abraham Maslow

1908 - 1970

American psychologist whose self-actualization theory suggested humans must meet basic needs before pursuing self-fulfillment.

Love Story

Ali MacGraw

1939 -

Actress whose girl-next-door vibe elevated 1970s hits like "Love Story" and "The Getaway."

Debbie ReynoldsGetty Images

Abraham MaslowBettmann Archive

Ali MacGrawGetty Images

1985

APR1

Nike releases its first Air Jordan shoes, named for basketball superstar Michael Jordan. It sells 450,000 pairs in the first month.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on April 1st

First U.S. House of Representatives elects speaker

On April 1, 1789, the first U.S. House of Representatives, meeting in New York City, reaches quorum and elects Pennsylvania Representative Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg as its first speaker. Muhlenberg, a Lutheran minister and the former president of the Pennsylvania convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution, was the son of Henry Augustus Muhlenberg and grandson […]

1:28m read read

Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg

Jane Austen declines royal librarian’s writing advice

Jane Austen responds to a letter from Rev. James Stanier Clarke, librarian to England’s Prince Regent (the future King George IV), suggesting she write a historic romance, saying, “I could not sit down to write a serious romance under any other motive than to save my life.” Austen’s correspondence with the Prince Regent’s librarian, as well as […]

1:52m read read

RAF founded

On April 1, 1918, the Royal Air Force (RAF) is formed with the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The RAF took its place beside the British navy and army as a separate military service with its own ministry. In April 1911, eight years after Americans Wilbur […]

Hitler sentenced for his role in Beer Hall Putsch

Adolf Hitler is sentenced for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch of November 8, 1923. The attempted coup in Munich by right-wing members of the army and the Nazi Party was foiled by the government, and Hitler was charged with high treason. Despite his conviction, Hitler was out of jail before the end of […]

1:46m read read

Beer Hall Putsch Trial

Alaskan earthquake triggers massive tsunami

On April 1, 1946, an undersea earthquake off the Alaskan coast triggers a massive tsunami that kills 159 people in Hawaii. In the middle of the night, 13,000 feet beneath the ocean surface, a 8.6-magnitude tremor was recorded in the North Pacific. (The nearest land was Unimak Island, part of the Aleutian chain.) The quake […]

2:10m read read

Soap operas “General Hospital” and “The Doctors” premiere

On April 1, 1963, the ABC television network airs the premiere episode of General Hospital, the daytime drama that will become the network’s most enduring soap opera and the longest-running serial program produced in Hollywood. On the same day, rival network NBC debuts its own medical-themed soap opera, The Doctors. By setting their new shows in […]

1:54m read read

President Nixon signs legislation banning cigarette ads on TV and radio

On April 1, 1970, President Richard Nixon signs legislation officially banning cigarette ads on television and radio. Nixon, who enjoyed the occasional cigar, supported the legislation at the increasing insistence of public health advocates. Alarming health studies emerged as early as 1939 that linked cigarette smoking to higher incidences of cancer and heart disease and, […]

2:06m read read

First MLB players’ strike begins

At 12:01 a.m. on April 1, 1972, the first collective players’ strike in Major League Baseball history begins. The strike lasts 12 days, ending on April 13, and 86 games are cancelled, throwing the season into flux from the start. The cause of baseball’s first strike was the expiration of the league’s three-year pension agreement. […]

1:46m read read

Scoreboard Reading "No Game Today"

Marvin Gaye is shot and killed by his own father

On April 1, 1984, one day short of his 45th birthday, Marvin Gaye is shot and killed by his own father, bringing a tragic end to the life of a musical artist at the peak of his career. Gaye was known as “the Prince of Motown,” the soulful voice behind hits as wide-ranging as “How […]

2:18m read read

Villanova wins NCAA basketball title in stunning upset

On April 1, 1985, in one of the most shocking upsets in college basketball history, Villanova beats heavily favored, Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown, 66-64, to win the NCAA basketball title. The Wildcats, led by Dwayne McClain’s 17 points, execute a perfect game plan and shoot 79 percent from the field in the win. Georgetown, the No. […]

1:36m read read

The “Polish Prince” killed in plane crash

On April 1, 1993, race car driver and owner Alan Kulwicki, who won the 1992 National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Winston Cup championship by one of the tightest margins in series history, is killed in a plane crash near Bristol, Tennessee, where he was scheduled to compete in a race the following […]

2:18m read read

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