April 9, 1981 (Thursday)
- AIDS pandemic: The first confirmed diagnosis of a sexually transmitted disease causing Kaposi's sarcoma was made by Dr. John Gullett in San Francisco. Dr. Gullett reported his findings to the Centers for Disease Control two weeks later.
- The Japanese ship Nissho Maru was sunk after colliding with the USS George Washington (SSBN-598), an American nuclear submarine.
- Fernando Valenzuela, the 20 year old rookie for the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitched a 2-0 win over the Houston Astros, the first of eight consecutive wins, and one of five shutouts. In his first 8 games, he had an ERA of 0.50, though he lost 7 of the 12 games pitched afterward.
- Born: Eric Harris, American murderer (Columbine High School massacre), in Wichita; committed suicide in 1999
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Famous quotes containing the word april:
“Postmodernism is, almost by definition, a transitional cusp of social, cultural, economic and ideological history when modernism’s high-minded principles and preoccupations have ceased to function, but before they have been replaced with a totally new system of values. It represents a moment of suspension before the batteries are recharged for the new millennium, an acknowledgment that preceding the future is a strange and hybrid interregnum that might be called the last gasp of the past.”
—Gilbert Adair, British author, critic. Sunday Times: Books (London, April 21, 1991)