April 7: On this day in world history …. briefly
Interesting historic snippets and facts taken from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London.
1614: El Greco, Cretan-born painter, sculptor and architect, dies in Spain, his adopted country.
1827: John Waller, a chemist in northern England, sells the first matches that he invented himself.
1862: General Ulysses Grant’s troops vanquish the Confederate army at the Battle of Shiloh.
1943: Chemist Albert Hofmann synthesizes the drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) at his laboratory in Switzerland.
1943: British economist John Maynard Keynes launches a plan for post-war reconstruction.
1947: Death of Henry Ford, American car manufacturer.
1948: The World Health Organisation is founded in Geneva.
1949: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical ‘South Pacific’ opens on Broadway.
1953: Swedish civil servant Dag Hammarskjöld succeeds Trygve Lie as secretary-general of the United Nations.
1968: British world racing champion Jim Clark was killed when his Lotus hurtled out of control at an estimated 120mph (192kmh) during the first race of the Formula Two championship in Hockenheim, Germany. Clark (32) had a record of 25 Grand Prix wins.
1971: Nixon promises to withdraw 100 000 troops from Vietnam by Christmas.
1978: President Carter backpedals on building the neutron bomb.
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