Episodes

April 27, 1993. An airplane carrying the Zambian national soccer team crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all thirty people on board.

April 26, 1986. A safety test goes wrong at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, causing the worst nuclear disaster in history.

April 25, 1983. After writing a letter to the Soviets during the Cold War, US schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union — a diplomatic feat that earns the ten-year-old the moniker of “America’s Youngest Ambassador.”

April 24, 1915. Leaders of the Armenian community in Constantinople are arrested by Ottoman authorities, marking the start of the Armenian Genocide.

On today’s Saturday Matinee: Marilyn Monroe’s place in history is likely fixed in part due to the mystery of her death. What really happened? Accident? Suicide? Murder? Link to History Uncovered: https://podfollow.com/1485610570 Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

April 21, 1918. Manfred von Richthofen, the World War One fighter pilot better known as the Red Baron, is shot down and killed.

April 20, 1862. French biologist Louis Pasteur invents a process of heating a liquid to kill potentially harmful bacteria and names it after himself: pasteurization.

April 19, 1989. When a female jogger is brutally attacked in New York’s Central Park, five Black and Hispanic youths are wrongfully convicted and sentenced to several years in prison, despite a complete lack of DNA evidence.

April 18, 1906. San Francisco begins a rapid rebuild after an earthquake and fire destroys over 80% of the city’s buildings.

April 17, 1975. Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge after the radical communist insurgency captures the nation’s capital.

On today’s Saturday Matinee, pack your bags and get ready for international adventure: we’re traveling to the East with the History of China Podcast. Link to The History of China: https://podfollow.com/741606139 Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

April 14, 1865. At Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C., the actor, John Wilkes Booth, assassinates U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

April 13, 1970. An oxygen tank explodes on Apollo 13 leaving the spacecraft crippled, and the lives of the crew in peril.

April 11, 1951. Four months after it was stolen by Scottish nationalists from Westminster Abbey, the Stone of Destiny — used in the coronation of British monarchs for centuries — is found in the ruins of Scotland’s Arbroath Abbey.

April 10th, 1971. To thaw relations between the countries, the US table tennis team arrives in the People's Republic of China, marking the start of what will become known as “Ping Pong Diplomacy.”

On today’s Saturday Matinee, cross the police tape to shadow the real detectives who worked history’s most intriguing cases, true crime stories from all over the world. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

April 7th, 1926. Three years into Benito Mussolini's fascist rule, an Irish woman named Violet Gibson attempts to assassinate the Italian dictator.

April 6, 1909. Robert Peary leads an expedition to the Arctic and declares himself the first man to reach the North Pole.

April 5, 1986. A bombing at a discotheque in West Berlin kills three and injures hundreds, leading the US to launch retaliatory airstrikes against the accused sponsor of the terrorist attack, Libya.

April 4, 1975. Bill Gates and Paul Allen formalize their partnership with the creation of Microsoft, ushering in the personal computer revolution.

April 3, 1996. Ted Kaczynski is arrested by FBI agents and accused of being the elusive Unabomber.

The tradition of April Fools Day is born in a gruesome political murder that prevents the recognition of March 32nd, a day so steeped in mystery it doesn’t appear on the calendar. The Council of Mars is:Lindsay Graham, Lead CantorEmily Burke, Arranger of SoundsMollie Baack. Conjurer of RealitiesSteven Walters, High ScribeAlexandra Currie-Buckner. GuardianArch Priests, Steven Walters for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.With special contributions from Acolytes Miranda Kathleen, Ben Sawyer, Lindsay Goldapp and William Simpson. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

March 31, 1981. The famous Actor Robert De Niro wins an academy award for his role in Director Martin Scorcese’s Raging Bull. Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.