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1980: The mission to rescue the 52 hostages from the US embassy in Iran (Operation Eagle Claw) was aborted due to equipment failure. The Iranian foreign minister warned that any attempt by the US would be considered an act of War. Eight US Servicemen lost their lives in the aborted attempt. The hostages were held for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of students took over the American embassy in support of Iran's revolution. The crisis ended after The Algiers Accords are agreed on January 19, 1981 brokered by the Algerian government between the USA and Iran to resolve the situation. The Algiers Accords consisted of a number of stipulations which both parties agreed to including:
1990: The Space Shuttle Discovery launched the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit. It is hoped that the Telescope will be able to see up to the edge of the known universe. Although Hubble had some problems in the beginning with the original mirror design after repairs consisting of a series of corrective mirrors which are carried out in space, Hubble has sent back a series of stunning photographs of deep space, and revolutionized thinking about the universe.
1800: The Library of Congress (the research library of the United States Congress) was established on This Day 1800 when then President John Adams signed an Act of Congress providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington.
1898: Spain declares war on the United States after rejecting America's ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.
1916: The Easter uprising begins when some 1,600 militant Irish republicans who are members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood seize several key sites in Dublin hoping to win independence from British rule. British forces suppressed the uprising after six days, and its leaders were court-martialed and executed.
1920: The rebels in Mexico led by Pancho Villa are to launch a major drive against federal forces and are continuing to gain ground.
1924: The Governor of Indiana Warren G. McCray has resigned after being found guilty of mail fraud . His sentence will be announced tomorrow and his time will be served at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.
1936: Benny Goodman and his trio recorded "China Boy." Benny Goodman was one of the most prominent jazz and big band musicians of his day, often being referred to as the "King of Swing," "The Professor" and "Swing's Senior Statesman."
1947: The four major powers Britain, France, Russia and The United States met in Berlin to discuss the Austrian treaty for Berlin but no agreement was reached for the future of Berlin.
1951: The US Army plans to cut it's draft call for the Korean war to 20,000 in June and to bring home 20,000 Korean Veterans.
1954: British Security forces round up more than 10,000 men suspected of being Mau Mau rebels who are part a guerrilla movement opposed to white settlers in the East African colony. The round up has come following a breakdown in law and order and a state of emergency which has been declared in Kenya.
1961: In France the backing for Charles de Gaulle continues to grow and he is now backed by the Army, Air Force and the people of France, the world waits to see if an all out civil war occurs in France and the Eiffel Tower was blacked out in Paris.
Celebrating Birthdays Today
Barbra Streisand
Born: Barbara Joan Streisand, 24th April 1942, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Known For: Barbra Streisand an American singer and film and theatre actress. Her breakthrough came with the lead role in the 1964 Broadway production musical Funny Girl. In 1968 she starred in the Film version of Funny Girl for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. She has sold more than 70 million albums making her the highest ranking female artist in America on the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) Top Selling Artists list. Worldwide she has sold over 140 million albums . At 64 years old she went on a 20-concert tour setting record box office numbers grossing US$92,457,062 . Her achievements include winning 10 Grammys, her discography is unbelievable the full discography is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbra_Streisand_discography. She will appear in "Streisand: Live in Concert" on the CBS television network on Saturday, and although I am not a big TV watcher I will watch listen and appreciate her wonderful talent on Saturday April 25th 2009.
From 1958 toys Page1968: Students at Columbia University in New York City begin a week long occupation of several campus buildings protesting the Universities affiliation with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA), a weapons research think-tank affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Students had been demonstrating earlier in March but the Columbia Administration had placed on probation six anti-war Columbia student activists for violating the ban on indoor demonstrations, which in turn caused the students to become more hard line in their protests.
1975: The hostage siege West German embassy in Stockholm has ended when a cache of dynamite is detonated by the terrorists, causing the death of at least three people. Five Baader-Meinhof guerrillas had been holding 11 people hostage and demanding the release of the 26 Baader-Meinhof group members currently in prison in Germany.
1982: The first British casualty in the Falklands campaign is Petty Officer Kevin Stuart Casey who is missing presumed drowned after the Sea King helicopter he was travelling in ditched into the sea.
1984: Apple released the Apple IIc portable computer costing $1,295.
1991: Due to the increase in Portable Phones many golf clubs have banned the use on the golf course because of the distraction to other players, they must now be turned off when starting the round of Golf.
1993: A massive bomb in a parked Van in Bishopsgate in the heart of the City of London explodes, killing one and injuring more than 40. The Police believe that the bomb was planted by the IRA, although the IRA has not said it carried out the attack.
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2008: UK Banks Lose Test Case over unreasonable overdraft charges, the ruling by Mr Justice Andrew Smith in the case bought by the OFT over what a fair charge should be for unauthorized overdrafts leaves the door open for thousands of cases currently going through the courts. Since 2006 hundreds of thousands of customers have already claimed hundreds of millions of pounds from their banks, arguing the charges for overdrafts and bounced cheques were unreasonable and unfair.
2008: The problem of Somalia Pirates on the coast of Africa continues to worsen with more tankers being boarded by pirates who then use the Somalia territorial waters to make good their escape. A new UN Security Council resolution sponsored by France and the US will authorize countries to chase and seize pirates when they flee into territorial waters.
2008: Wesley Snipes has been sentenced in Florida on tax evasion charges. A jury had found him guilty in February, and he has been awarded thirty-six months in federal prison. Snipes's lawyers had called for leniency, arguing that the offences were misdemeanors and that the star was of good character. But prosecutors said an example should be set because of Snipes's fame. The jury had found Snipes guilty of deliberately failing to file tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001, but cleared him of the more serious fraud and conspiracy charges.
2012: The US Justice Department filed criminal charges against former BP engineer Kurt Mix, who was arrested, for intentionally destroying evidence. The arrest marked the first criminal charges filed against anyone involved with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill since the spill happened in 2010. Kurt Mix had been accused of deleting text messages that contained details on the progress of trying to cap the spill.
2013: Over one-thousand people were killed and more than 2,500 people were injured as a result of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Several factories were housed in the complex where cracks had been found previously. Despite the construction code violations apparent in the building, owners had told workers not to worry about it and continue work as normal.
2014: Cornish people in the United Kingdom were granted a minority status under the rules for protection of national minorities in Europe. This meant that the people of Cornwall would be listed along with Irish, Welsh, and Scottish people as recognized minority communities in the United Kingdom.
This custom-crafted oak-grained cabinet opens to reveal storage for up to 120 video tapes. With inserts included, holds 92 video tapes, 18 CD's and 14 audio cassettes. Doors lock for complete security.
AM/FM Clock/Radio with four and a half inch black and white TV. Red LED digital time display with AM indicator. High/low dimmer control. Snooze bar. Battery backup system. Earphone jack. Telescopic FM antenna. White plastic cabinet.
A hand-held version of the Nintendo Entertainment System. Features Tetris Game Pack, LCD dot-matrix game screen, and digital stereo sound with earphones for private play. Video Link cable hook-up allows two Game Boy systems to go head-to-head.