In this week: 12th - 18th April

Here are a few anniversary news stories that took place this week, from years gone by:

#TattyHistory

12^th April

Roosevelt

75 years ago: In 1945, 32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of an cerebral haemorrhage aged 63. He was succeeded by Vice-President Harry S. Truman who pledged to continue Roosevelt’s WWII policies for war and peace.

40 years ago: In 1980 there was a military coup in Liberia. President William R. Tolbert Jr. was shot dead and the government was ousted. Thirteen other senior government officials were publicly executed on 22nd April.

Birthdays:

Vince Gill (US singer and current member of the Eagles), 63

Fran Halsall, (retired British Swimmer), 30

13^th April

50 years ago: In 1970, an oxygen tank exploded on board Apollo 13 as it neared the Moon, crippling the spacecraft and putting the lives of the crew at risk. The mission was abandoned and the crew returned safely to Earth on 17th April.

20 years ago: In 2000, he American rock band Metallica filed suit against Napster, Inc., a filesharing company that distributed MP3 music files over the internet. The band claimed that Napster was guilty of copyright infringement and racketeering. Napster lost the case and shut down its network in July 2001.

Birthdays:

Edward Fox (English actor), 83.

Jonjo O’Neill (Irish horse racing trainer), 68.

14^th April

Noye

20 years ago: In 2000, British gangster Kenneth Noye (“The M25 killer”) was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of killing motorist Stephen Cameron in a road-rage incident near Swanley, Kent in May 1996.

He was released on parole in 2019

Birthdays:

Bob Massie (Australian cricketer), 73

Robert Carlyle (Scottish actor), 59.

15^th April

75 years ago: In 1945, the Bergen–Belsen concentration camp in Germany was liberated by British and Canadian troops.

Greta Garbo

30 years ago: In 1990, Swedish film actress Greta Garbo died of pneumonia and renal failure at age 84 (in her later life she was undergoing 6 hours of dialysis, 3 times a week for her kidney failure). She was known for her portrayals of strong-willed heroines (Mata Hari, Anna Karenina, Camille, Ninotchka).

Birthdays:

Jeffrey Archer (English author), 80.

Samantha Fox (English model, singer and actress), 54.

16^th April

150 years ago: In 1870, London’s Vaudeville Theatre opened in the West End. It has since been rebuilt twice, but elements of the original structure still remain.

75 years ago: In 1945, U.S. forces liberated Colditz Castle in Germany (officially known as Oflag IV-C), a high-security prisoner-of-war camp for officers.

25 years ago: In 1995, British radio, film and television actor and variety comedian Arthur English died. He was best known for his roles in the TV comedy series Are You Being Served? In Sickness and in Health, and Till Death Us Do Part.

Birthdays:

Pope Benedict XVI, 93.

Joan Bakewell (English Journalist and author), 87.

17^th April

60 years ago: In 1960, American rock and roll musician Eddie Cochrane (aged 21) died after being involved in a car crash. He is remembered for his hit songs C’mon Everybody, Summertime Blues and Three Steps to Heaven.

Birthdays:

Nick Hornby (English novelist), 63

Sean Bean (English actor), 61

18^th April

65 Years ago: In 1955, The first “Walk/Don’t Walk” street crossing signals were installed at intersections in New York City, USA.

65 years ago: Also in 1955, German-born American theoretical physicist Albert Einstein died. He is considered to be the most influential physicist of the 20th century and known for developing the special and general theories of relativity. He won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his services to physics and his work on the photoelectric effect.

40 years ago: In 1980, Southern Rhodesia became the independent nation of Zimbabwe.

Birthdays:

Hayley Mills (English actress), 74.

David Tennant (Scottish actor), 49.