What Happened in April 1991

Historical Events

Events 1 - 100 of 102

Refrigerator Tour

Apr 3 "Penn and Teller - Refrigerator Tour" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC

Contract of Interest

Apr 3 Bo Jackson signs 1-year contract with Chicago White Sox

NFL Running Back and Baseball Outfielder Bo Jackson

Apr 3 Thomas Bos skates world record 3 km (3:65.16)
Apr 3 UN Security Council adopts Gulf War truce resolution
Apr 4 "Lucifer's Child" opens at Music Box Theater NYC for 28 performances
Apr 4 Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
Apr 5 Detroit Pistons Joe Dumaars ends NBA free throw streak of 62 games

Historic Publication

Apr 5 Kitty Kelley publishes an unauthorized biography of former US First Lady Nancy Reagan

Apr 5 Southeast Airlines Embracer 120 crashes in Georgia, killing 23
Apr 5 Space Shuttle STS 37 (Atlantis 8) launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Apr 5 US begins air drops to Kurd refugees in Northern Iraq
Apr 6 145th Grand National: In Canadian distillery Seagram's final year of race sponsorship, New Zealand-bred chestnut gelding Seagram wins, ridden by Nigel Hawke

Sports History

Apr 6 Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona suspended for 15 months by Italian League for testing positive for cocaine use

Apr 6 Former child actor Adam Rich arrested for breaking into a pharmacy
Apr 6 NY-NJ Knights 1st home game (Giants Stadium) lose to Frankfurt 27-17
Apr 6 Subhana, becomes 1st Australian woman to become a Zen teacher
Apr 7 "Shadowlands" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theatre NYC after 169 performances
Apr 7 Brooke Allen's stage drama "The Big Love", a one-woman show starring Tracey Ullman, closes at Plymouth Theater, NYC, after 41 performances
Apr 7 Compton Gamma Ray Observatory orbits Earth
Apr 7 George Washington Bridge (connecting New York City with Fort Lee, New Jersey, over the Hudson River) raises toll from $3.00 to $4.00

Golf Tournament

Apr 7 Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Jack Nicklaus wins his second of 4 event titles by 1 stroke from Jim Colbert, Jim Dent & Phil Rodgers

Apr 8 "I Hate Hamlet" opens at Walter Kerr Theater NYC for 88 performances

Sports History

Apr 8 Jockey Bill Shoemaker paralyzed in a car accident

Racing Hall of Fame Jockey Bill Shoemaker

Apr 8 Major league umpires & baseball reach a 4-year agreement

Film & TV History

Apr 8 Michael Landon announces he has inoperable cancer of the pancreas

Apr 8 Oakland A's stadium becomes 1st outdoor arena in USA to ban smoking
Apr 9 Georgia SSR votes to secede from USSR
Apr 10 Boat rams a tanker in Livorno Italy fog, killing about 138

NHL Record

Apr 10 LA King Wayne Gretzky scores NHL record 93rd playoff goal

Apr 10 Last automat (coin operated cafeteria) closes (3rd & 42nd St, NYC)
Apr 10 Martin Zubero swims world record 200m backstroke (1:52.51)
Apr 10 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is awarded to John Updike for novel 'Rabbit At Rest'
Apr 10 Rare tropical storm develops in the Southern Hemisphere near Angola; first to be documented by satellites

Miss Saigon

Apr 11 Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil's musical "Miss Saigon", based on Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly", and starring Jonathon Pryce and Lea Salonga opens at Broadway Theater, NYC; runs for 4,092 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards

Apr 11 NYC's Museum of Broadcasting becomes "Museum of Radio & Television"
Apr 11 Space Shuttle STS 37 (Atlantis 8) lands at Edwards Air Force Base, California
Apr 11 UN Security Council issues formal cease fire with Iraq declaration
Apr 12 2,500th episode of Entertainment Tonight airs
Apr 12 Nepalese Congress party wins general elections
Apr 12 US announces closing of 31 major US military bases
Apr 13 BPAA US Open by Pete Weber
Apr 14 55th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Welshman Ian Woosnam wins his only major title, 1 stroke ahead of José María Olazábal; 4th straight year the Masters champion is from the UK
Apr 14 Chic Blackhawks becomes 1st NHL regular season champion in 20 years to lose in 1st round of the playoffs (To Minn North Stars)

Mule Bone

Apr 14 Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston's stage comedy "Mule Bone" closes at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC, after 68 performances

Apr 15 95th Boston Marathon: Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya wins his 2nd men's title in 2:11:06; Wanda Panfil of Poland woman's champion in 2:24:18
Apr 15 Dutch checker Ton Sijbrands improves world record blind checker games (15 wins)
Apr 15 East-Europe Bank forms in London
Apr 15 Europe foreign ministers lift most remaining sanctions against South Africa
Apr 15 Former child actor Adam Rich (Eight Is Enough) charged with burglary

NBA Record

Apr 15 Magic Johnson sets NBA record for career assists with 9,898

Apr 15 New York State raises maximum unemployment benefits to $280 per week
Apr 15 Sacramento Kings set NBA record, losing 35th consecutive game on road
Apr 16 Leander & Seago's musical "Matador" premieres in London
Apr 16 St Louis Blues becomes 8th NHL team in Play-off to come back from a 3-1 deficit as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in game 7
Apr 17 Dow Jones closes above 3,000 for 1st time (3,004.46)
Apr 17 Railroad workers go on strike in US
Apr 18 Congress ends railroad worker 1 day strike

NBA Record

Apr 18 John Stockton breaks his own NBA season assist record at 1,136

Apr 18 US Census Bureau said it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census

Boxing Title Fight

Apr 19 Evander Holyfield beats George Foreman in 12 for heavyweight boxing title

Apr 19 Greyhound Bus posts $195 million loss for 1990
Apr 20 1st non stop flight Schiphol-Flamingo airport Bonaire
Apr 20 Mark Lenzi is 1st diver to score 100 pts on a dive (101.85)
Apr 20 Raghib "Rocket" Ismael signs with Toronto Argonauts for $26.2 million
Apr 21 French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio discovers the San Diego, Dutch galleon sunk in 1600 off Fortune Island in the Philippines
Apr 21 Greatest extra-inning comeback, Pitts scores 6 in bottom of 11th erasing 5 run Cub lead, Pirates also trailed 7-2 in bottom of 9th
Apr 21 Jakov Tolstikov wins 4th World Cup marathon (2:09:17)
Apr 21 NFL Draft: University of Miami defensive tackle Russell Maryland first pick by Dallas Cowboys

Sports History

Apr 21 Rosa Mota wins 4th World Cup female marathon (2:26:14)

Apr 21 Senior PGA Championship, PGA National GC: Jack Nicklaus wins his 4th of 8 Champions Tour majors by 6 strokes from Bruce Crampton of Australia
Apr 22 Earthquake strikes Costa Rica & Panama, kills 95
Apr 22 Frank Thomas is 1st White Sox to homer at new Comiskey Park

i486SX Released

Apr 22 Intel releases the lower-cost i486SX microprocessor

Semiconductor Pioneer and CEO of Intel Andrew Grove

Carson Announces Retirement

Apr 22 Johnny Carson announces he will retire next year from "The Tonight Show"

Apr 22 Shalom America (Jewish cable network) is launched in Brooklyn & Queens

Sports History

Apr 23 Björn Borg loses 6-2, 6-3 to Jordi Arrese after an 8 year lay off without practising or playing any exhibition matches

Apr 23 Outstanding West Indian cricket opening batsman Gordon Greenidge scores 226 in his final Test innings at home in Bridgetown, Barbados; WI win 4th Test v Australia by 343 runs
Apr 23 USSR grants republics right to secede under certain conditions

Academy of Country Music Awards

Apr 24 26th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire win

Apr 24 Freddie Stowers is awarded the posthumous Medal of Honor for which he had been recommended in 1918.
Apr 25 "Grand Hotel" closes at Beck Theater, NYC, after 1018 performances
Apr 25 Boston Herald journalist Lisa Olson brings suit against NFL New England Patriots for sexual harassment while covering team; an out-of-court settlement was reached, the league fines the team, and she transfers to a position in Sydney, Australia
Apr 25 Iraq announces it expects to resume crude oil and product exports by July

Music Premiere

Apr 25 Lucy Simon & Marsha Norman's musical "The Secret Garden", based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel, starring Daisy Eagan and Mandy Patinkin, opens at St James Theater, NYC; runs for 706 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards

Stage and Screen Actor and Singer Mandy Patinkin

Apr 26 "Dinosaurs" premieres on ABC-TV
Apr 26 23 killed in Kansas & Oklahoma by tornadoes
Apr 26 Soccer star Diego Maradona, suspended for using cocaine, arrested in Argentina for possession & distribution of illegal narcotics
Apr 27 "Lucifer's Child" closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 28 performances
Apr 27 Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by David Ozio
Apr 28 "Taking Steps" closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC after 78 performances

Music Premiere

Apr 28 Revival of Jules Styne and Stephen Sondheim's musical "Gypsy" starring Tyne Daly, re-opens at Marquis Theater, NYC, after a short break and venue transfer; runs for an additional 105 performances

Apr 28 Space Shuttle STS 39 (Discovery 12) launched

Don't Rock the Jukebox

Apr 29 "Don't Rock the Jukebox" single released by Alan Jackson (ASCAP Award Country Song of the Year, 1992; Billboard Song of the Year, 1991)

Apr 29 "Our Country's Good" opens at Nederlander Theater NYC for 48 performances

Events in 1991

Famous Birthdays

Apr 2 Quavo [Quavious Marshall], American rapper (Migos), born in Athens, Georgia

Jamie Lynn Spears (33 years old)

Apr 4 American actress (Zoey 101), born in McComb, Mississippi

Apr 6 Alexandra Popp, German football player (German captain), born in Witten, Germany

Anne-Marie (33 years old)

Apr 7 British pop singer-songwriter ("Rockabye"; "Friends"), born in East Tilbury in Essex, England

Apr 10 Amanda Michalka, American actress and singer, born in Torrance, California
Apr 13 Dylan Francis Penn, daughter of Sean Penn & Robin Wright, born in Los Angeles, California
Apr 16 Bruno Alves, Brazilian footballer (2011-present), born in Jacareí, Brazil
Apr 16 Jazzmeia Horn, American jazz singer-songwriter (A Social Call), born in Dallas, Texas
Apr 21 Karolis Chvedukas, Lithuanian soccer midfielder (20 caps; FK Sūduva 163 games, Waterford FC), born in Marijampolė, Lithuania (d. 2023)
Apr 21 Max Chilton, British Formula One and IndyCar racing driver, born in Redhill, England

Jacob Blake (32 years old)

Apr 30 African-American man shot multiple times in the back and seriously injured by police officer Rusten Sheskey in Kenosha, Wisconsin, born in Evanston, Illinois

Apr 30 Travis Scott [Jacques Webster], American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer ("Highest In The Room"; "Sicko Mode"), born in Houston, Texas

Born in 1991

Famous Weddings

Apr 20 Soviet Russian figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva (19) weds Soviet Russian figure skater Sergei Grinkov (24), in a state sanctioned ceremony

Bruce & Kris Jenner

Apr 21 Olympic gold winning decathlete Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn Jenner) weds Kris Kardashian in Bel Air, Los Angeles

Apr 28 Soviet Russian figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva (19) weds Soviet Russian figure skater Sergei Grinkov (24), in a Russian Orthodox Church religious ceremony

Famous Divorces

Apr 25 American fashion designer Mary McFadden (52) announces divorce from Kohie Yohannan (23)

Famous Deaths

Apr 1 Frankie Gustine, American Major baseball infielder (MLB All-Star 1946, 47, 48; Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 71
Apr 1 Jaime Guzmán, Chilean politician (President of the Independent Democratic Union), dies at 44
Apr 1 Martha Graham, American choreographer (Appalachian Spring), dies at 96
Apr 1 Paulo Muwanga, chief of Uganda (1980), dies

Graham Greene (1904-1991)

Apr 3 English novelist (Brighton Rock, Our man in Havana, The Power and the Glory) and journalist, dies of leukemia at 86

Apr 4 Edmund Adamkiewicz, German soccer forward (2 caps; Hamburger SV, Eintracht Frankfurt), dies at 70
Apr 4 John Heinz, American businessman and Republican politician (Senator from Pennsylvania, 1977-1991), dies in a plane crash at 52
Apr 4 Max Frisch, Swiss writer and playwright (I'm Not Stiller, Firebugs), dies at 79
Apr 5 John Tower, American politician (US Senator (R)-Texas), dies in a plane crash at 65
Apr 5 Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr, American chemist and NASA astronaut (STS 33), dies at 43

Bill Ponsford (1900-1991)

Apr 6 Australian cricket batsman (29 Tests @ 48 22, 7 x 100s; 1st-class 13,819 runs @ 65.18; Victoria), dies at 90

Apr 7 Ruth Page, American ballet dancer and choreographer (Diaghilev's Ballets Russes - Pygmalion), dies at 92
Apr 8 Dead [Pelle Ohlin], Swedish heavy metal singer (Mayhem), commits suicide at 22
Apr 9 Forrest Towns, American athlete (Olympic gold 110m hurdles 1936), dies at 77
Apr 9 Maurice Binder, American photographer and film title designer (James Bond Movies), dies at 73
Apr 10 Kevin Peter Hall, actor (Harry & Hendersons), dies of AIDS at 35
Apr 10 Natalie Schafer, American actress (Gilligan's Island, Anastasia), dies from cancer at 90
Apr 11 Tom Rosqui, American stage and screen character actor (The Godfather - "Rocco Lampone"), dies of cancer at 62
Apr 11 Walker Cooper, American baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1942–44, 46–50; World Series 1942, 44; St. Louis Cardinals), dies at 76
Apr 12 James Schuyler, American poet (Pulitzer 1980), dies
Apr 15 Marjorie Warfield, American stage, radio, and silent film actress, dies of pneumonia at 88
Apr 15 Martin Ashe, American actor, dies at 81

David Lean (1908-1991)

Apr 16 English film director (Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, Ryan's Daughter), dies of pneumonia at 83

Apr 17 Jack Yellen, American poet (Sons o' Fun), dies at 97
Apr 18 Barry Rogers, American jazz, salsa, and session trombonist (Eddie Palmiere; Fania All-Stars; Chaka Khan; Todd Rundgren), dies at 55
Apr 18 Heino Jurisalu, Estonian composer (Kvintett puhkpillidele), dies at 60
Apr 18 Martin Hannett, British record producer (Joy Division; OMD), dies of heart failure at 42
Apr 19 Stanley Hawes, British-born Australian film producer, director and administrator (b. 1905)
Apr 20 Don Siegel, American film director (Coogan's Bluff, Dirty Harry), dies at 78
Apr 20 Sean O'Faolain [J Whelan], Irish writer (Nest of Simple), dies at 91
Apr 20 Steve Marriott, British rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (Small Faces, 1965-68, 75-78); Humble Pie, 1969-75, 79-83 - Eat It), dies in a house fire at 44
Apr 20 Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal, Mongolian politician (Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural (President), 1974-84; Prime Minister, 1952-74; General Secretary of the Mongolian People's Party, 1940-54), dies at 74
Apr 21 Richard Bolling, American politician (Rep-D-Missouri 1949-83), dies at 74
Apr 21 Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (Vienna New Year's Concert, 1955-79), dies at 81
Apr 23 Johnny Thunders [Genzale], American punk rock guitarist (New York Dolls), dies from a combination of leukemia and drug abuse at 38
Apr 23 Peter Bailey, American graphic designer and calligrapher, dies at 67
Apr 24 J. de Graaf, Dutch ethicist, president church & peace, dies at 79
Apr 25 Frank Hamilton, Canadian-American actor (Subterraneans), dies at 66
Apr 25 Theo Laseroms [Tank], Dutch soccer player (Feyenoord), dies
Apr 26 Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (The Godfather Part II), and father of Francis Ford Coppola, dies at 80
Apr 26 Emily McLaughlin, American actress (Jessie Brewer- General Hospital), dies at 61
Apr 26 Hans Holewa, Austrian-born Swedish composer, dies at 85
Apr 26 Lars Hall, Swedish pentathlete (Olympic gold 1952), dies at 63
Apr 26 Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (Bugler's Dream), dies at 86
Apr 26 Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (26th Premier of New Brunswick), dies at 60
Apr 27 Marcus Heeresma, Dutch author (Anna, Son of a Whore), dies at 55
Apr 28 Floyd McKissick, American lawyer and civil rights activist, dies at 69
Apr 28 Ken Curtis, American actor (Festus - Gunsmoke), dies at 74
Apr 28 Steve Broidy, American motion picture executive, dies at 85
Apr 29 Claude Gallimard, French publisher, dies
Apr 30 George Sperti, American inventor (Preparation H), dies at 91

Highway of Death

Kuwaiti Oil Fires

Pablo Escobar Jailed

A Sheep's Coat at Sunrise, A Man's Coat at Sunset