19 April 1957

A Friday in history

Weekday

Friday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

20th century

Records

258

  1. 2020

    A series of attacks in Nova Scotia, Canada, ended when the perpetrator was killed by police, leaving 22 victims dead.

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  2. 2015

    Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American, died of injuries sustained while in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department.

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  3. 2005

    Joseph Alois Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the papal conclave.

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  4. 2000

    Air Philippines Flight 541 crashed in Samal, Davao del Norte, killing all 131 people on board.

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  5. 1995

    A truck bombing destroyed much of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building (aftermath pictured) in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring more than 680 others.

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  6. 1989

    A gun turret exploded on board the United States Navy battleship Iowa, killing 47 sailors.

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  7. 1987

    The fictional Simpson family made their first appearance in the short "Good Night", aired in a segment of the The Tracey Ullman Show.

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  8. 1984

    "Advance Australia Fair", written by Scottish-born composer Peter Dodds McCormick, officially replaced "God Save the Queen" as Australia's national anthem.

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  9. 1975

    Aryabhata (pictured), India's first satellite, was launched from Kapustin Yar in the Soviet Union.

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  10. 1971

    Salyut 1, the first space station, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam in the Soviet Union.

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  11. 1971

    The Doors (pictured) released L.A. Woman, their final album during their lead vocalist Jim Morrison's lifetime.

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  12. 1956

    American actress Grace Kelly (pictured) became the princess consort of Monaco upon her marriage to Rainier III.

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  13. 1927

    American actress Mae West (pictured) was sentenced to ten days in jail for "corrupting the morals of youth" with her play Sex.

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  14. 1903

    Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Kishinev, the capital of Bessarabia Governorate, causing the death of nearly 50 Jews and focusing worldwide attention on the persecution of Jews in Russia.

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  15. 1875

    The Minute Man was unveiled as part of the centennial celebration of the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

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  16. 1861

    The first bloodshed of the American Civil War took place when Confederate sympathizers in Baltimore, Maryland, attacked members of the Massachusetts militia en route to Washington, D.C.

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  17. 1809

    War of the Fifth Coalition: French general Louis-Nicolas Davout defeated an Austrian force in Lower Bavaria, allowing him to rejoin the main French army.

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  18. 1782

    The States General of the Dutch Republic received John Adams, and the house he had purchased in The Hague became the first United States embassy.

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  19. 1775

    The American Revolutionary War began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in the British colony of Massachusetts.

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  20. 1773

    The Polish Partition Sejm met to discuss the First Partition of Poland, carried out the previous year by Russia, Prussia and Austria.

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  21. 1713

    With no living male heirs, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, issued the Pragmatic Sanction, allowing the Habsburg hereditary possessions to be inherited by a daughter.

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  22. 1506

    In Lisbon, Portugal, a crowd began a massacre of Jews who had been forced to convert to Christianity.

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Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

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