This Day in History

  • Central Park jogger attack shocks New York City
    by HISTORY.com Editors on April 28, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    On April 19, 1989, a 28-year-old female investment banker is beaten and sexually assaulted while jogging in New York City’s Central Park. Five teenagers from Harlem were wrongly convicted of the crime, which shocked New Yorkers for its randomness and viciousness and became emblematic of the perceived lawlessness of the city at the time. The

  • Paul Revere's Midnight Ride (1775)
    on April 18, 2026 at 5:00 am

    American patriot Paul Revere was a member of the Sons of Liberty and a participant in the Boston Tea Party, but he is chiefly remembered for his late-night horseback ride to warn the Massachusetts colonists that British soldiers were setting forth on the mission that, as it turned out, began the American Revolution. Two others also rode out with the news, but it is Revere who is celebrated as the midnight rider, despite having been captured before reaching his final destination. Why is this?

  • Ford Mustang Debuts at New York World's Fair (1964)
    on April 17, 2026 at 5:00 am

    Introduced at a relatively affordable $2,368, the Ford Mustang took the American auto market by storm. The initial sales projection of 100,000 units in the first year was surpassed within months, and a record 418,000 were on the road within the year. That year, the Mustang was featured in the James Bond film Goldfinger and appeared as the pace car at the Indianapolis 500, helping secure its iconic status. The original pony car, the very first Mustang model has what unusual designation?

  • Chinese Submarine Suffers Mysterious Accident that Kills 70 (2003)
    on April 16, 2026 at 5:00 am

    A week and a half after a mysterious event left the entire 70-man crew of the Chinese Ming-class submarine No. 361 dead at their posts, the stricken vessel was spotted by fishermen and towed to shore. The official explanation for the disaster is that the crew suffocated when diesel engines failed to shut down while the vessel was submerged. What had allowed the crippled submarine to drift for over a week without raising concern?