April 1976

[April 1], 1976 (Thursday)

• Apple Computer Company is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne, in Cupertino, California, United States.
• Conrail begins operations in the United States. It has been created by the US government to take control of 13 major Northeast Class-1 railroads following bankruptcy proceedings.
• The New Zealand Fire Service is established, as a result of the New Zealand Fire Service Act.
• British astronomer Patrick Moore broadcasts on BBC Radio 2, on the subject of the "Jovian–Plutonian gravitational effect", an April Fool's Day hoax. Moore's reputation is such that the BBC receives hundreds of calls from listeners who claim to have observed the non-existent effect.
• The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission becomes the regulator of Canadian television and radio.
• Born: David Oyelowo, British actor, in Oxford
• Died: Max Ernst, 84, German artist

  [April 2], 1976 (Friday)

• Norodom Sihanouk resigns as Cambodia's head of state, after a period of being kept under house arrest by the Khmer Rouge, after witnessing conditions in the countryside.

  [April 3], 1976 (Saturday)

• The Eurovision Song Contest 1976 is held at The Hague, Netherlands, and is won by Brotherhood of Man, representing the United Kingdom, with "Save Your Kisses for Me".

  [April 4], 1976 (Sunday)

• Tiananmen Incident: Large crowds gather at Beijing's Monument of the Martyrs on the traditional day of mourning, to commemorate the death of Premier Zhou Enlai. Poems criticising the influential "Gang of Four" are read out.

  [April 5], 1976 (Monday)

• "The day of rage": Following the gatherings of the previous day, the authorities remove the tributes and protests ensue. Riots break out and it takes the police and militia all day to regain control.
• James Callaghan wins the Labour Party leadership election necessitated by the resignation of Harold Wilson, and becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. At 64 years and 9 days, he is the oldest person to be appointed PM since Winston Churchill.
• Segovia prison break: 29 political prisoners escape from Segovia prison through tunnels they had built, linked to the prison's drainage system. Most are recaptured, and one is killed by police and Civil Guards.
• Died: Howard Hughes, 70, US aviator, film director and recluse; Wilder Penfield, 85, US-born Canadian neurosurgeon

  [April 6], 1976 (Tuesday)

• The 1976 Gent–Wevelgem cycle race is held in Belgium and is won by Freddy Maertens.
• Two Cuban fishing boats, the Ferro 119 and Ferro 123, are attacked and sunk by a boat operated by Cuban exiles. One crew member is killed and another three are injured.

  [April 7], 1976 (Wednesday)

• A Philippine Air Lines BAC One-Eleven is hijacked and diverted to Manila, with the hijackers demanding US$300,000 and the release of prisoners. They subsequently force the plane to fly to locations in Malaysia and Thailand, where Philippine Air Lines provides them with a Douglas DC-8. On arrival at their final destination in Libya, the hijackers release their hostages and request political asylum.
• The 5th European Badminton Championships, held in Dublin, Ireland, conclude, with Flemming Delfs winning the Men's Singles and Gillian Gilks the Women's.

  [April 8], 1976 (Thursday)

• Campbell Shopping Complex fire: A 20-storey shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur is destroyed by fire, as a result of an electrical fault. One person is killed and 156 shops and 41 offices are destroyed.
• The 1976 US National Football League Draft begins at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.
• The Cypriot cargo ship MS Kaptanvassos capsizes and sinks off Perama, Greece, with the loss of five crew members.

  [April 9], 1976 (Friday)

• The 1976 Tour of the Basque Country cycle race is won by Gianbattista Baronchelli.
• Peter Hain, leader of the UK's National League of Young Liberals is found not guilty of stealing £490 from Barclays Bank. It would later be confirmed that the charge was the result of covert operations by South African agents trying to discredit Hain because of his anti-apartheid campaigning.

  [April 10], 1976 (Saturday)

• Belgium's prime minister, Leo Tindemans, in a TV interview, explains his country's decision to purchase US fighter planes instead of French Mirage jets, in the context of a common defence strategy for Europe.
• Born: Saba Mubarak, Jordanian actress and producer, in Anjara

  [April 11], 1976 (Sunday)

• 1976 Mahoran status referendum: A referendum is held in Mayotte on whether to become an Overseas Territory of France. The proposal is rejected by over 97% of voters
• The 1976 Masters golf tournament, held at the Augusta National Golf Club in the United States, is won by Raymond Floyd.

  [April 12], 1976 (Monday)

• 1976 West Bank local elections: the Palestine Liberation Organization is successful on a turnout of 72.3%. Voter turnout was 72.3%.

  [April 13], 1976 (Tuesday)

• Lapua Cartridge Factory explosion: An explosion in an ammunition factory in Lapua, Finland, kills forty employees and injures another sixty.
• The United States two-dollar bill, bearing the face of Thomas Jefferson, is reintroduced by the United States Treasury Department as a Federal Reserve Note as an element of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
• Born: Jonathan Brandis, US actor, in Danbury, Connecticut
• Died: Sabri al-Asali, 72/73, Syrian politician, three times prime minister

  [April 14], 1976 (Wednesday)

• An Avro 748-105 Srs. 1 Ciudad de Corrientes, operated by YPF, suffers the loss of its right wing because of metal fatigue, followed by separation of the right tailplane. The plane crashes near Cutral Có, Argentina; all 34 people on board are killed.

  [April 15], 1976 (Thursday)

• The 1976 La Flèche Wallonne cycle race is won by Joop Zoetemelk.

  [April 16], 1976 (Friday)

• India's government, in an attempt to prevent a population explosion, introduces a family planning initiative along with a minimum age for marriage of 21 years for men and 18 years for women. The programme arouses controversy and is ultimately unsuccessful.
• The US drilling rig 'Ocean Express sinks in the Gulf of Mexico. Thirteen of her 36 crew are killed when their escape capsule also sinks.
• Born:' Shu Qi, Taiwanese model and actress, in Xindian, under the name Lin Li-hui

  [April 17], 1976 (Saturday)

• Evonne Goolagong defeats Chris Evert to win the Singles final in the 1976 Virginia Slims Championships tennis tournament at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in the United States.

  [April 18], 1976 (Sunday)

• The final of the 1976 African Men's Handball Championship is held in Algiers and is won by Tunisia.
• Born: Melissa Joan Hart, US actress, in Smithtown, New York, the daughter of producer Paula Hart
• Died: Henrik Dam, 81, Danish biochemist and Nobel laureate

  [April 19], 1976 (Monday)

• Jack Fultz wins the Boston Marathon in Boston, United States, in a time of 2:20:19.

  [April 20], 1976 (Tuesday)

• The 1976 Monte Carlo Open tennis tournament concludes, with Guillermo Vilas the victor in the Men's Singles and Helga Masthoff winning the Women's competition.

  [April 21], 1976 (Wednesday)

• Great Bookie robbery: In Melbourne, Australia, a gang of six steals somewhere between $14 and $16 million from bookmakers at the Victoria Club. The money was never recovered and most of the thieves were never apprehended.

  [April 22], 1976 (Thursday)

• South African prime minister John Vorster announces plans for a Ministerial Joint Committee comprising representatives of South Africa and Israel.

  [April 23], 1976 (Friday)

• Ray Reardon defeats Alex Higgins in the final of the 1976 World Snooker Championship.
• The Ramones, the US's foremost punk rock band, release their first album, Ramones.

  [April 24], 1976 (Saturday)

• An Avianca Boeing 727-59 is hijacked by a lone armed passenger after take-off from Pereira, Colombia. He surrenders to the authorities on arrival at Bogotá, the plane's original destination.
• Lorne Michaels, producer of Saturday Night Live, makes an on-air offer to pay the Beatles $3000 to reunite on the show. John Lennon would later claim that he and Paul McCartney were together in New York and discussed the possibility of going to the SNL studio "for a gag".

  [April 25], 1976 (Sunday)

• The 1976 Portuguese legislative election, results in victory for the Socialist Party under Mário Soares.
• The French motorcycle Grand Prix is held at Le Mans and won by Herbert Rittberger.
• Chicago Cubs baseball player Rick Monday notices two protesters trying to burn an American flag in the outfield during a game at Dodger Stadium. Monday snatches the flag from them; both are arrested. Monday's explanation is, "If you're going to burn the flag, don't do it around me. I've been to too many veterans' hospitals and seen too many broken bodies of guys who tried to protect it."
• Died: Carol Reed, 68, English film director

  [April 26], 1976 (Monday)

• Died: Sid James, 62, South African comedy actor, of a heart attack while appearing on stage in Sunderland, UK

  [April 27], 1976 (Tuesday)

• American Airlines Flight 625, a Boeing 727, crashes at St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands; 37 of the 88 people on board are killed.
• A Royal Malaysian Air Force RMAF's Sikorsky S-61 Nuri helicopter is shot down by terrorists in Gubir, Kedah. Eleven Malaysian Armed Forces military personnel are killed.
• The 1976 Vuelta a España cycle race starts in Spain.
• Born: Sally Hawkins, Oscar-nominated English actress, in Dulwich, London, the daughter of writer Jacqui Hawkins

  [April 28], 1976 (Wednesday)

• Swedish film producer Ingmar Bergman flies to Los Angeles to meet Dino de Laurentis, with plans to make two films together.

  [April 29], 1976 (Thursday)

• A concealed bomb explodes at the gates of the Soviet Union's embassy in China; the bomb, intended for embassy staff, kills four Chinese people. The incident has a major detrimental effect on Sino-Soviet relations.
• An annular solar eclipse takes place. Annularity is visible from North Africa, Greece, Turkey, Middle East, central Asia, India and China, occurring just 2 days past apogee.

  [April 30], 1976 (Friday)

• A deported Turkish migrant worker hijacks a Turkish Airlines Douglas DC-10-10 after take-off from Orly Airport, Paris. He demands to be flown to Marseille or Lyon, but the plane returns to Orly, where he surrenders. The 264 people on board are unharmed.
• Bruce Springsteen, touring in the Memphis area of Tennessee, tries to gain admission to Elvis Presley's mansion, "Graceland", by climbing a wall. Security guards tell him that Elvis is out of town and escort him off the premises.