A train derailed near Merano, Italy, after running into a landslide, causing nine deaths and injuring 28 people.

A suicide bomber penetrated the Green Zone and detonated in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.

A female suicide bomber detonated at the entrance to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda open-air market, killing 7 and wounding 104.

US President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.

An earthquake in Slovenia, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale occurs near the town of Bovec.

Canter & Siegel post the first commercial mass Usenet spam.

The ''Euro Disney Resort'' officially opens with its theme park ''Euro Disneyland''. The resort and its park's name were subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.

Jim Gary's "Twentieth Century Dinosaurs" exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

The first launch of a Space Shuttle: ''Columbia'' launches on the STS-1 mission. thumb launch: ''Columbia''.]]

Terry Fox begins his "Marathon of Hope" at St. John's, Newfoundland.

Samuel Doe takes control of Liberia in a ''coup d'état'', ending over 130 years of national democratic presidential succession.

Nerve gas accident at Skull Valley, Utah.

The Soviet nuclear powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S ''Finnclipper'' in the Danish straits.

Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space, in Vostok 3KA-2 (Vostok 1). thumb to travel into outer space: Yuri Gagarin]]

The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.

Bill Haley & His Comets record "Rock Around the Clock" in New York City.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies while in office; vice-president Harry Truman is sworn in as the 33rd President.

Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.

First flight of the Bristol Blenheim.

The U.S. Auto-Lite Strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.

The strongest surface wind gust in the world at 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire.

April 12 Incident: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Communist Party of China members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.

World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.

The SMS Zrinyi, one of the last pre-dreadnoughts built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.

The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.

American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.

American Civil War: The Fort Pillow massacre: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.

Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England cause it to collapse.

Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.

American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.

The formal inquest of Galileo Galilei by the Inquisition begins.

The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of Great Britain.

Cuenca is founded in Ecuador.

The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.

Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.