This day in history: 7 april

Europa

• 1541: Francis Xavier leaves Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies.
• 1739: Dick Turpin, the notorious English highwayman, is hanged in York.
• 1939: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini makes Albania a protectorate of Italy, installing Victor Emmanuel III as king, while Albanian King Zog I goes into exile.
• 1945: During World War II, the last German troops withdraw from Finnish Lapland, marking the end of German military presence in Finland.

America

• 1712: In New York City, 27 black slaves rebelled, shooting nine whites as they attempted to put out a fire started by the slaves. The state militia was called out to capture the rebels. Twenty-one of the slaves were executed, and six committed suicide.
• 1865: In Appomattox Court House, Virginia, Robert E. Lee surrendered his 28,000 Confederate troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War. Grant accepted Lee’s terms, which included pardoning all officers and men.
• 1902: Texaco was formed, originally named “The Texas Company,” starting from the Fee Oil Well No. 3 in Sour Lake, Texas.
• 1940: Booker T. Washington became the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
• 1943: The National Football League made helmets mandatory.
• 1948: The World Health Organization (WHO) was established by the United Nations, with the aim of fighting disease and epidemics worldwide, building up national health services, and improving health education.
• 1969: The Internet’s symbolic birth date, with the publication of RFC 1 by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
• 1971: President Richard Nixon announced his decision to quicken the pace of Vietnamization, the process of transferring military responsibilities to South Vietnamese forces.
• 1990: An arson attack on the passenger ferry “Scandinavian Star” killed 159 people. Insurance fraud is considered the most likely motive for the attack.
• 2003: U.S. forces circled the city of Baghdad, leading to the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime two days later.
• 2017: U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the 2017 Shayrat missile strike against Syria in retaliation for the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack.
• 2020: Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly resigned for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic on USS Theodore Roosevelt and the dismissal of Brett Crozier.
• 2021: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant had become the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the United States.
• 2022: Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed for the Supreme Court of the United States, becoming the first black female justice.

Asia

• 1938: The Battle of Tai’erzhuang, a significant event in the Second Sino-Japanese War, concluded with a Chinese victory. This battle temporarily prevented the connection of two Japanese armies, marking a rare early success for the Chinese forces against the Japanese invasion.
• 1954: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned of the potential “domino effect” in Southeast Asia, where the fall of French rule in Vietnam could lead to the spread of communism throughout the region. This theory significantly influenced U.S. policy towards Vietnam for the next decade.
• 2003: U.S. troops captured Baghdad, leading to the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime two days later. This event marked a pivotal moment in the Iraq War, with significant implications for the Middle East and Asia.
• 2009: Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison for human rights abuses during his presidency. This event had implications for Asian politics, given Fujimori’s Japanese heritage and the international attention it garnered.
• 2022: In Myanmar, fighting intensified between the military and various ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and local defense forces, particularly in northern Shan state. This ongoing conflict reflects the complex ethnic and political dynamics in the region.
• 2022: In the Philippines, four communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels were killed by the military in Northern Mindanao, highlighting the ongoing insurgency in the country.
• 2022: In Indonesia, clashes between state forces and the separatist West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) were reported in Papua province, contributing to a 63% increase in violence in the country relative to the past month.
• 2022: In Mongolia, demonstrations took place against rising commodity prices, reflecting economic challenges in the region.
• 2022: In Singapore, a protest was held demanding the government abolish the death penalty, following the first execution in the country since 2019.
• 2022: In South Korea, protests occurred against the country’s potential participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade agreement involving 11 countries in the region.

Africa

• 1712: In New York City, 27 black slaves rebelled, shooting nine whites as they attempted to put out a fire started by the slaves. The state militia was called out to capture the rebels. Twenty-one of the slaves were executed, and six committed suicide.
• 1940: The first U.S. stamp ever to honor an African American was issued, featuring Booker T. Washington.
• 1956: Attorney Christopher Darden was born. He was a prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
• 1957: On July 6, Althea Gibson became the first African American to win a Grand Slam tennis title, defeating Darlene Hard in the Wimbledon Championships.
• 1959: Legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, known as “Lady Day,” was born on this day.
• 1964: Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji was born in Ajido, a small town in Nigeria.
• 2012: Joyce Banda became the President of Malawi, marking a significant moment in African political history.
• 2012: 130 Pakistani Army soldiers were buried in an avalanche near the Siachen Glacier, an event that had implications for regional stability in Africa due to Pakistan’s involvement in peacekeeping missions.
• 2019: Two female suicide bombers attacked a crowd on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing three civilians and injuring 33 others.
• 2019: A major power outage occurred in Sudan, leaving almost the entire country without electricity amid ongoing anti-government protests.