Opinion - The Korea Times

MONDAY, April 28, 2025

1611-Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, oldest existing university in Asia and largest Catholic university in the world 1796-Armistice of Cherasco between Sardinia and Napoleon Bonaparte at Cherasco, Piedmont gives France territories of Piedmont, Savoy and Nice 1939-Adolf Hitler claims German-Polish non-attack treaty still in effect 1952-Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Commander of NATO 1967-Muhammad Ali refuses induction into army & stripped of boxing title 1986-Soviet TV news program Vremya announces a nuclear accident at Chernobyl nuclear power station, 2 days after the event 1989-Iran protests sale of "Satanic Verses" by Salman Rushdie 1994-Aldrich Ames, former CIA officer and his wife Rosario plead guilty to spying for the Soviet Union and Russia 1995-Gas explosion in South Korean metro, 103 die 2001-Millionaire Dennis Tito becomes the world's first space tourist

Apr 27, 2025

THURSDAY, April 24, 2025

1479-B.C. Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty) 1184-B.C. The Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional date) 1877-Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78: Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire 1898-Spanish–American War: Spain declares war after rejecting US ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba 1916-Easter Rising of Irish republicans against British occupation begins in Dublin 1967-American General William Westmoreland says in a Vietnam War news conference that the enemy has "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily" 1979-U.S. State of Georgia designates Ray Charles' rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" (written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell) as official state song 2023-India surpasses China as the worlds most populous country according to U.N. estimates, with 1,425,775,850 people (estimated to reach 1.7 billion by 2064)

Apr 23, 2025

WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2025

1014-King Brian Boru of Ireland defeats Viking forces at the Battle of Clontarf, freeing Ireland from foreign control 1597-William Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is first performed, with Queen Elizabeth I of England in attendance 1861-Robert E. Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces (US Civil War) 1968-First decimal coins issued in Britain, the 5 and 10 new pence, replacing the shilling and two-shilling pieces 1984-AIDS-virus identified as HTLV-III (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) 1900-First know occurrence of word "hillbillie" (NY Journal) 1971-Columbia University operations virtually end, by student strike 1984-AIDS-virus identified as HTLV-III (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) 2003-Beijing closes all schools for two weeks because of the SARS virus

Apr 22, 2025

TUESDAY, April 22, 2025

1500-Pedro Álvares Cabral is the first European to discover Brazil, landing near Monte Pascoal, claims it for Portugal 1915-First military use of poison gas occurs when Germany uses chlorine gas against the Allies at Ypres in World War I [1] 1993-Holocaust Memorial Museum dedicated in Washington, D.C. 1994-7,000 Tutsi slaughtered by Hutus in the stadium at Kibuye, Rwanda 2006-Nepali security forces open fire on Pro-democracy protesters demonstrating against King Gyanendra, injuring hundreds. The protesters go on to secure the restoration of Parliament and a federal state. 2016-Paris Agreement on climate change signed in New York binding 195 nations to an increase in the global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C

Apr 21, 2025

MONDAY, April 21, 2025

753-BC Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional date) 1526-First Battle of Panipat: Central Asian conqueror Babur defeats Sultan Ibrahim Lodi, establishing the Mughal Empire in India 1792-Brazilian revolutionary Tiradentes, is hanged, drawn and quartered in Rio de Janeiro 1863-Bahaullah, founder of the Bahai Faith, enters the garden of Rivden near Baghdad. He makes his declaration as a Messenger of God during the 12 days he spends there. 1918-German World War I fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen aka "The Red Baron," is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France. Canadian pilot Arthur Roy Brown is credited with the kill. 1989-Thousands of Chinese crowd into Beijing's Tiananmen Square cheering students demanding greater political freedom

Apr 20, 2025

FRIDAY, April 18, 2025

1506-The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid in the Vatican by Pope Julius II 1906-San Francisco earthquake and fire kills nearly 4,000 while destroying 75% of the city 1909-Joan of Arc receives beatification by the Roman Catholic Church at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican 1927-Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek forms an anti-government in China 1943-Operation Vengeance: US Army Air Force P-38G fighter aircraft from Kukum Field on Guadalcanal ambush and shoot down the transport bomber aircraft of Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy and mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor attack [ 1954-Egyptian Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power and appoints himself Prime Minister 1985-"Wham!" become the first western pop act to release an album in China

Apr 17, 2025

THURSDAY, April 17, 2025

1864-Bread revolt in Savannah, Georgia 1907-Ellis Island, New York records 11,745 immigrants 1943-Japanese Navy Marshal Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto flies from Truk to Rabaul, tracked by US fighter aircraft after intelligence intercepts his itinerary 1946-Syria declares independence from French administration 1973-German counter-terrorist unit GSG 9 founded 1982-Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Queen Elizabeth II sign the "Proclamation of the Constitution Act", establishing the "Charter of Rights and Freedoms" as part of the country’s new Constitution 1990-Gas explosion on passenger train in Kumrahar India, 80 die 1993-Two Los Angeles police officers convicted in federal court of violating Rodney King's civil rights and sentenced to prison, while two others are acquitted 2013-North Korea blocks a South Korean supply delegation from the Gaeseong joint industrial zone

Apr 16, 2025

WEDNESDAY, April 16, 2025

1917-Vladimir Lenin issues his radical "April Theses" calling for Soviets to take power during the Russian Revolution 1935-40-year-old future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Babe Ruth debuts in the NL with a HR and single in Boston Braves 4-2 win over the NY Giants, in Boston 1942-Japanese occupying army on Java installs film censorship 1943-Swiss scientist Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD 1948-Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris 1962-Brazil nationalizes U.S. businesses 1975-Cambodian Red Khmer occupy Phnom Penh 1993-Jury reaches guilty verdict in federal case against police officers (two convicted, two acquitted) who beat Rodney King, but the verdict is not read until April 17th 2003-Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens, admitting 10 new member states to the European Union 2018-Kendrick Lamar is the first rapper and non-classical or jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for music with his album "Damn

Apr 15, 2025

TUESDAY, April 15, 2025

1802-William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy see a "long belt" of daffodils, inspiring the former to pen "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud". 1850-City of San Francisco incorporated 1865-Abraham Lincoln dies nine hours after he is shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington 1912-RMS Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland as the band plays on, with the loss of between 1,490 and 1,635 people 1983-Tokyo Disneyland opens 2010-Volcanic ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland leads to the closure of airspace over most of Europe.

Apr 14, 2025

MONDAY, April 14, 2025

1865-U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington; he dies a day later 1912-RMS Titanic, the world's largest ocean liner, hits an iceberg at 11.40pm off Newfoundland, sinks in the early hours of April 15 1914-Dr. Harry Plotz isolates the bacteria that causes Typhus Fever at Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City 1935-Black Sunday dust storm ravages the US Midwest, leading to the region being named the "Dust Bowl" 1981-The first Space Shuttle, Columbia 1, returns to Earth after 2 days and 6 hours in space 2003 -The Human Genome Project is completed with 99 percent of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99 percent

Apr 13, 2025

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