What Happened in April 1998

Historical Events

US Masters Golf

Apr 12 62nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Mark O'Meara claims his first major title with a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win by 1 stroke from David Duval and Fred Couples

Golfer and Masters Champion Fred Couples

Apr 12 An earthquake in Slovenia, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale occurs near the town of Bovec.
Apr 18 51st British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs): "The Full Monty" Best Film, Baz Luhrmann Best Director

Sports History

Apr 18 NFL Draft: Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning first pick by Indianapolis Colts

Senior PGA Championship

Apr 19 Senior PGA Championship, PGA National GC: Hale Irwin makes it 3 straight titles in the event with a convincing 7 stroke margin over runner-up Larry Nelson

Golfer and Three-Time Major Championship Winner Larry Nelson

Apr 20 102nd Boston Marathon: Moses Tanui of Kenya wins men's title in 2:07:34; Fatuma Roba of Ethiopia wins back-to-back women's events in 2:23:21
Apr 20 German terrorist group Red Army Faction announces their dissolution after 28 years.
Apr 20 TAME Boeing 727-200 chartered by Air France, crashes into Cerro El Cable mountain after takeoff from Bogotá, Colombia, killing 53

Academy of Country Music Awards

Apr 22 33rd Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and George Strait win

Apr 22 Disney's Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.

Music Concert

Apr 27 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include: Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Madonna, Billy Joel, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Roberta Flack, Wynonna Judd, and Tsidii Leloka

Pianist, Songwriter and Composer Billy Joel

Events in 1998

Famous Birthdays

Apr 2 Pleasantly Perfect, American thoroughbred racehorse (Breeders' Cup Classic 2003; Dubai World Cup 2004), born in Clovelly Farms, Louisiana (d. 2020)
Apr 3 Paris Jackson, American actress and daughter of Michael Jackson, born in Los Angeles, California
Apr 6 Peyton List, American actress (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), born in Florida

Elle Fanning (26 years old)

Apr 9 American actress (We Bought a Zoo), born in Conyers, Georgia

Apr 15 Sexyy Red [Janae Nierah Wherry], American rapper ("Pound Town"), born in St Louis, Missouri
Apr 19 Shawn Raboutou, American rock climber, born in Boulder, Colorado
Apr 24 Ryan Newman, American actress (Zeke and Luther), born in Manhattan Beach, California

Born in 1998

Famous Weddings

Ronan Keating

Apr 30 Irish "Boyzone" singer Ronan Keating (21) weds Irish model Yvonne Connolly (24) on the Caribbean isle of Nevis; separate in 2010, divorce in 2015

Famous Deaths

Apr 1 Eugene "Gene" Evans, American actor (My Friend Flicka, Johnny Ringo, Alamo), dies of heart failure at 75
Apr 1 Rozz Williams, American musician (Christian Death), dies at 34
Apr 3 Mary Cartwright, English mathematician (b. 1900)
Apr 3 Rob Pilatus, American-German model, dancer, and de-frocked Grammy Award winner (Milli Vanilli - "Girl You Know It's True"), dies of accidental prescription drug and alcohol overdose at 42
Apr 5 Charles Frank, British theoretical physicist (work on crystal dislocations), dies at 87
Apr 5 Cozy Powell [Colin Flooks] English rock drummer (Jeff Beck Group; Emerson, Lake & Powell), dies in a car crash at 50
Apr 5 John Wilbraham, British classical, baroque, and session trumpeter (Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields; English Chamber Orchestra; The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour), and educator, dies at 53

Tammy Wynette (1942-1998)

Apr 6 American country singer ("Stand By Your Man"), dies at 55

Apr 6 Wendy O. Williams, American singer (Plasmatics) (b. 1949)
Apr 7 Broery Marantika [Simon Pesulima], Indonesian blues and jazz singer, and actor, dies at 51
Apr 7 Nick Auf der Maur, Canadian journalist and politician, dies at 55
Apr 9 John Tate, American boxer (WBA heavyweight championship 1979-80), dies from a stroke at 43
Apr 9 Tom Cora, American cellist and composer, dies at 44
Apr 11 Ivan Tcherepnin, American experimental and postmodern composer, dies at 55
Apr 11 Rodney Harvey, American actor and model (Salsa), dies of a drug overdose at 30
Apr 13 Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver & skysurfer, dies at 38
Apr 14 Maurice Stans, American politician, Secretary of Commerce and Watergate figure, dies at 90

Pol Pot (1925-1998)

Apr 15 Cambodian dictator (1976-79), revolutionary who led the Khmer Rouge (1963-97) and perpetrator of the Cambodian genocide, dies at 72

Apr 15 Rose Maddox, American country and bluegrass singer-songwriter, and fiddle player (Sing a Little Song of Heartache), dies of kidney failure at 72
Apr 16 Alberto Calderón, Argentine mathematician, dies at 77
Apr 16 Fred Davis, English 8-time World Snooker Champion (1948-49, 51), dies at 84

Linda McCartney (1941-1998)

Apr 17 American photographer, musician (Wings) and wife of Paul McCartney, dies of breast cancer at 56

Apr 18 Terry Sanford, American politician, dies at 80
Apr 19 Liam Sullivan, American singer and actor (Star Trek; The Magic Sword; Monroes), dies of a heart attack at 74
Apr 19 Octavio Paz, Mexican poet (Salamandra; Topoemas), writer and diplomat who won the 1990 Nobel Prize laureate, dies at 84
Apr 20 Trevor Huddleston, English Anglican bishop in South Africa and anti-apartheid activist (wrote Naught for Your Comfort), dies at 84
Apr 21 Jean Francois Lyotard, French philosopher and sociologist (b. 1924)
Apr 21 Peter Lind Hayes, American comedian and singer (Peter Lind Hayes Show), dies at 82
Apr 22 Kitch Christie, South African rugby coach, dies at 58

James Earl Ray (1928-1998)

Apr 23 American assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., dies while still under detention of complications related to kidney disease and liver failure caused by hepatitis C at 70

Apr 23 Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek politician, President of Greece (1980-85), dies at 91
Apr 24 Mel Powell [Epstein], American composer (Duplicates: A Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra - Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1990), dies from liver cancer at 75
Apr 25 Wright Morris, American writer (b. 1910)
Apr 27 Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born American writer and mystic, dies at 72
Apr 27 Dominique Aury, French novelist, dies at 90
Apr 27 Godfrey Kenton, English actor (The Tempest, Well's Theater), dies at 96
Apr 27 John Bassett, Canadian publisher & media baron, dies at 47
Apr 28 Ramakant Desai, Indian cricket fast bowler (28 Tests, 74 wickets, 1 x 50; Bombay), dies from cardiac arrest at 58
Apr 29 Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1922)
Apr 30 Francis Avery Jones, Welsh gastroenterologist, dies at 87
Apr 30 Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet (b. 1926)

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