Category: Éphémérides (anglais)

International Olympic Committee announces postponed 2020 Summer Olympic Games will be held July 23-August 8 in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic

At 15 years, 9 months American swimmer Michael Phelps breaks 200m butterfly world record; becomes youngest male to set a world mark

Jack Nicklaus makes his debut on the Senior PGA Tour with a 71 (-1) in the first round of The Tradition at Desert Mountain.

“Chariots of Fire” directed by Hugh Hudson and starring Ben Cross and Ian Charleson premieres at a Royal Command Film Performance (Best Picture 1982).

President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr. Another 2 people are wounded at the same time.

Miles Davis’s influential double album “Bitches Brew” released.

Toronto Transit Commission opens Yonge Street subway; first line in Canada.

Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.

Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patented the pencil.

Trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd begins in Minneapolis.

Megaship Ever Given freed after nearly a week stuck in and blocking the Suez Canal, with at least 369 vessels waiting to pass though.

Singer-songwriter Billie Eilish releases her debut studio album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?”.

I. M. Pei’s pyramidal entrance to the Louvre opens in Paris.

1st Soviet hockey players are permitted to play for the NHL.

WrestleMania III: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI (93,173): Hulk Hogan successfully defends WWF Heavyweight title against André the Giant.

Chinese farmers discover the Terracotta Army near Xi’an, 8,000 clay warrior statues buried to guard the tomb of China’s 1st emperor, Qin Shi Huang.

The last U.S. troops left South Vietnam.

A jury in Los Angeles recommended the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. The death sentences were later commuted to live in prison.

Dow Brewery destroys 4,546,000 litres of beer after 16 people die in Quebec City area; 1 million gallons go down the drain.

Fire destroys basilica of Ste-Anne de Beaupré; shrine originally built in 1658 by sailors who escaped a shipwreck.

The British Parliament passed the North America Act to create the Dominion of Canada.

Niagara Falls stops flowing for 30 hours due to an ice jam

20,000 attend Ludwig von Beethovens burial in Vienna.

Ludwig van Beethoven (24) has his debut performance as a pianist in Vienna.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, China, his first trip outside of North Korea since coming to power in 2011.

More than 6,000 radio stations of all format varieties played “We are the World” simultaneously at 10:15 a.m. EST.

A major accident occurred at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.

Wilt Chamberlain plays his last pro basketball game.

In Germany, the Nazis ordered a ban on all Jews in businesses, professions and schools.

Anti-conscription riots break out in Quebec City; four civilians killed in shooting match with soldiers over Easter weekend.

1st seaplane takes off from water at Martiniques France (Henri Fabre)

Nathaniel Briggs patented a washing machine.

Louvre opens to the public (although officially opened since August).

Actor Will Smith slaps comedian Chris Rock during the Academy Awards ceremony on March 27. The gesture will earn Smith a 10-year ban from the Oscars.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces the country is now a “space power” after successfully shooting down a satellite from space in a ballistic missile test.

NFL owners voted to make instant replay a permanent officiating tool.

TV medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” created by Shonda Rhimes starring Ellen Pompeo and Sandra Oh debuts on ABC.

“Blizzard of Ozz”, the debut solo album by English rock musician Ozzy Osbourne, is released in the United States.

583 die in aviation’s worst ever disaster when two Boeing 747s collide at Tenerife airport in Spain.

Ringo Starr releases his 1st solo album “Sentimental Journey”.

Ottawa to build new international airport at Mirabel, near St-Jerome, 42 km north of Montreal.

Jacques Plante ties record winning 6th NHL Vezina trophy; Montreal goaltender

Steve McQueen made his network TV debut on “Goodyear Playhouse.”

Andrew Rankin patents the urinal.

The corkscrew was patented by M.L. Byrn.

The first English child born in Canada at Cuper’s Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy.

Spaniard Juan Ponce de León and his expedition first sight Florida.

Porn star Stormy Daniels claims she had an affair with Donald Trump in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes and was later threatened to keep quiet.

Mike Tyson sentenced to 10 years in rape of Desiree Washington.

TV Soap “The Young & the Restless” premieres on CBS.

The TV movie “Marcus Welby” was seen on ABC-TV. It was later turned into a series.

The Germans began sending Jews to Auschwitz in Poland.

Seattle Metropolitans beat Montreal Canadiens 3 games to 1 for the Stanley Cup; first US team to win.

The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.

The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.

Apple introduces new TV streaming platform Apple TV+, news service Apple News+ and an Apple credit card at star-studded event featuring Oprah.

Gay dating site Grindr launched by Joel Simkhai, first ever dating application to combine dating information and location.

TV reality show “The Bachelor” hosted by Chris Harrison debuts on ABC in the US.

In Paris, the Louvre reopened with I.M. Pei’s new courtyard pyramid.

Montreal Canadians beat Calgary Flames 4-3 to win the NHL final series four games to one, and their record 23rd Stanley Cup.

Wayne Gretzky became the first player in the NHL to score 200 points in a season.

Concorde makes its 1st supersonic flight (700 MPH/1,127 KPH)

John Lennon and Yoko Ono stage their 1st bed-in for peace (Amsterdam)

Elvis Presley performs live on the USS Arizona.

RCA manufactured its first color TV set and began mass production.

The Mercedes was introduced by Daimler at the five-day “Week of Nice” in Nice, France.

British Parliament abolishes slave trade throughout the British Empire.

Friday at 12 PM – city of Venice founded.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzō Abe announces postponement of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games until summer of 2021 because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Matrix” film written and directed by The Wachowskis, starring Keanu Reeve, Lawrence Fishburne and Carrie-Ann Moss premieres

NATO commences aerial bombardment against Yugoslavia, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.

The Exxon Valdez spilled 240,000 barrels (11 million gallons) of oil in Alaska’s Prince William Sound after it ran aground.

Mick Jagger & Keith Richards perform as Little Boy Blue & Blue Boys.

Rock’N’Roll teen idol Elvis Presley is drafted in the U.S. Army.

Operation Varsity: In the largest one-day airborne operation of all time, British, US & Canadian paratroopers land east of the Rhine in Northern Germany

Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Maroons 1-0 after 16 minutes and 30 seconds of the ninth period (sixth overtime); this Stanley Cup game is longest in NHL history.

Canada gave blacks the right to vote.

1st performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” in St. Petersburg

Cargo ship Ever Given gets stuck in the Suez Canal, Egypt, a 400m megaship it completely blocks the shipping canal.

Immediate global ceasefire to fight COVID-19 called for by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Usher releases his 4th studio album “Confessions” (2004 Billboard Album of the Year, Grammy Award Best Contemporary R&B Album 2005).

The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.

The film of The Concert For Bangladesh featuring George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton premiered in New York. The event was the first benefit concert of this magnitude in world history.

Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. (Republic Day in Pakistan)

Battle of Okinawa: US Navy ships bomb the Japanese island of Okinawa in preparation for the Allied invasion; it would become the largest battle of the Pacific War in World War II.

In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.

The Wright brothers 1st file a patent for a flying machine, which is granted 3 years later.

Jean Talon 1626-94 appointed Intendant of New France in Quebec City, in charge of finance and justice.

India puts 1 billion people under a daytime curfew to curb COVID-19.

Tomb of Jesus reopens after restoration in Jerusalem.

Largest protest in Quebec’s history occurs in Montreal with over 200,000 people marching against government tuition hikes and for free access to post-secondary education.

Clint Malarchuk of the Buffalo Sabres suffers a near-fatal injury when another player accidentally slits his throat.

The National Hockey League (NHL) voted to accept 4 World Hockey Association (WHA) teams, the Oilers, Jets, Nordiques & Whalers.

Nicolae Ceausescu is elected General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party

The Beatles’ first album, Please Please Me, is released in the United Kingdom.

1st patent for lasers granted to Arthur Schawlow & Charles Townes

“All Shook Up” single released by Elvis Presley.

The first shopping mall opened in Southfield, Michigan.

The Montreal Amateur Athletic Association win the first Stanley Cup championship game, beating the Ottawa Capitals 3-1.

Gutenberg Bible became the first printed book.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg admits they “made mistakes” after data on 50 million users is harvested by Cambridge Analytica.

Wayne Gretzky tied Gordie Howe’s NHL record of 801 goals.

Steven Spielberg won his first Oscars. They were for best picture and best director for “Schindler’s List.”

Part of Central Park is named Strawberry Fields honoring John Lennon.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced to the U.S. Olympic Team that they would not participate in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow as a boycott against Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.

Alcatraz Island, the federal penitentiary in San Francisco Bay, CA, closed.

The Beatles’ first appearance at the Cavern Club in Liverpool.

An earthquake hit Tokyo killing about 107,000.

The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax in Paris, France.