April 3, 1981 (Friday)
- After two days, the attempted coup d'état in Thailand was put down as thousands of troops took back control of Bangkok without a fight. Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda had taken King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the royal family with him to the city of Korat after General Sant Chipatima had seized control on Wednesday.
- Days before it was to be the showpiece of the California Energy Commission's conference on wind energy, the Alcoa 500 kW wind turbine at San Gorgonio Pass began turning. After only 2½ hours, the turbine was out of control, a blade came loose and the structure collapsed. The embarrassment was enough that Alcoa went no further in wind energy research.
- Preceding the launch of the IBM Personal Computer by almost four months, the Osborne 1 was introduced at the 7th annual West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
- Died: Juan Trippe, 81, founder of Pan American World Airways
Read more about this topic: April 1981
Famous quotes containing the word april:
““10 April 1800—
Blacks rebellious. Crew uneasy. Our linguist says
their moaning is a prayer for death,
ours and their own.”
—Robert Earl Hayden (1913–1980)