Events Date 1966 April | History by KabAstro

Apr 1 "Hold On, I'm Comin'" single released by Sam & Dave
Apr 1 1st world festival of black art (Dakar Senegal)

Event of Interest

Apr 1 Loyalist led by Ian Paisley, a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee to challenge the civil rights movement; it set up a paramilitary-style wing called the Ulster Protestant Volunteers

First Minister of Northern Ireland Ian Paisley

Apr 2 Soviet Union's Luna 10 becomes 1st spacecraft to orbit Moon
Apr 2 WJET TV channel 24 in Erie, PA (ABC) begins broadcasting
Apr 3 Soviet Luna 10 completes its first orbit of the Moon

Sports History

Apr 3 Tom Seaver signs with the Mets for a reported $50,000 bonus

Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher Tom Seaver

Apr 4 Pirate Radio Scotland changes name to Radio Ireland
Apr 4 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Apr 5 WTVX TV channel 34 in Ft Pierce-Vero Beach, FL (IND) 1st broadcast
Apr 6 Mihir Sen swims Palk Strait between Sri Lanka & India
Apr 7 US recovers a lost hydrogen bomb from the Mediterranean sea floor (whoops)

Sports History

Apr 8 American Football League votes in 36-year-old Al Davis as commissioner after Joe Foss resigns; appointment lasts 3 months when AFL merges with NFL

American Football Coach and Executive Al Davis

Apr 8 OAO 1, 1st orbiting astronomical observatory, launched
Apr 8 Time publishes its "Is God Dead" issue - its first issue without an image
Apr 9 Anaheim Stadium for California Angels opens

US Masters Golf

Apr 11 30th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jack Nicklaus becomes first back-to-back champion winning an 18-hole Monday playoff with Tommy Jacobs and Gay Brewer

Apr 11 Emmett Ashford becomes first African American major league baseball umpire in Washington Senators’ game against the Cleveland Indians at D.C. Stadium

Strangers in the Night

Apr 11 Frank Sinatra records "Strangers in the Night" single for his album of the same name. Later reaches #1 Billboard charts

Apr 12 1st B-52 bombing on North Vietnam
Apr 12 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium opens; Pirates beat Braves 3-2
Apr 12 Rocker Jan Berry crashes his Corvette into a parked truck, an accident which leaves him with long-lasting health issues
Apr 13 Pan Am places $525,000,000 order for 25 Boeing 747s
Apr 15 KHET TV channel 11 in Honolulu, HI (PBS) begins broadcasting

Aftermath

Apr 15 The Rolling Stones release "Aftermath", their fourth studio album in UK (6th in US)

Apr 16 Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith breaks diplomatic relations with Britain
Apr 17 100th international soccer match between Netherlands and Belgium (3-1)
Apr 18 70th Boston Marathon: Kenji Kimihara of Japan wins in 2:17:11; American Bobbi Gibb first woman in 3:21:40 (unsanctioned)

NBA Record

Apr 18 Bill Russell becomes first African American coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics)

Apr 19 In 1st regular season game at Anaheim Stadium, Angels lose 3-1 to Chic
Apr 20 WDCA TV channel 20 in Washington, D.C. (IND) begins broadcasting

Event of Interest

Apr 21 Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie visits Kingston, Jamaica

Apr 22 Atlanta Braves win their 1st game, beating NY Mets 8-4
Apr 22 The Troggs second single "Wild Thing" released; tops the charts in July
Apr 22 USSR performs underground nuclear test
Apr 24 Atlanta Braves win NL-record 18 straight home games (17 in Milwaukee)
Apr 25 Drunk driver kills 10 children in Asse, Belgium
Apr 25 Rare daylight meteor observed from New Jersey, US to Quebec, Canada in the early evening
Apr 26 An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 destroys Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Apr 26 International Olympic Committee votes to award German city of Munich the right to host the 1972 Summer Olympic Games