Seated (L-R): Linda Godwin, Thomas Jones, Jay Apt, Michael Clifford
STS-59 mission patch
Space shuttle Endeavour (STS-59) was launched April 9, 1994. Its crew consisted of Commander Sidney Gutierrez, Kevin Chilton, Jay Apt, Michael Clifford, Linda Godwin, and Thomas Jones. The crew was divided into two groups, Red and Blue, and the groups split tasks and research projects throughout the mission.
They returned to Earth eleven days later, after 183 orbits.
Probably more drama backstage than on-stage, the 35th Academy Awards were held April 8, 1963.
Bette Davis was up for Best Actress for her performance as Jane Hudson in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, but her feud with Joan Crawford led to Crawford campaigning against her receiving the award. It would have been Davis's third Oscar win, which would have been made her the first actress to win three Oscars. But Crawford's smear campaign worked and Anne Bancroft won the Oscar for her performance in The Miracle Worker. I like Anne Bancroft, but I think Bette Davis should have won. To add insult to injury, Crawford had arranged ahead of time to accept the award for Bancroft who was unable to attend.
Patty Duke won Best Supporting Actor for her work as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. However, I wonder if someone had initiated a campaign against Angela Lansbury, because she should have won the award for her performance as Eleanor Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate. I really think something fishy was going on there. Especially since The Manchurian Candidate was only nominated for two supporting acting awards, nothing else, not even Best Picture or Best Directing.
The Music Man won Best Music (Scoring of Music-Adaption or Treatment) for Ray Heindorf. Was there any real competition?
Henry Mancini won for Best Music (Song) for Days of Wine and Roses for the movie of the same name. Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics. I'm not familiar with the other nominees so I agree with this award.
What Ever Happened to Baby? won for Best Costume Design (Black-and-White) for Norma Koch. Iconic Edith Head was nominated for the two costume design categories but didn't win either. Hmmm....
Lawrence of Arabia was the biggest winner of the night, winning seven out of ten nominations.
Soyuz TMA-12 crew (L-R): Yi So-Yeon, Sergey Volkov, Oleg Kononenko
Soyuz TMA-12, launched April 8, 2008, carried two crew members and a Korean woman, as a Spaceflight Participant to the International Space Station. The crew consisted of Commander Sergey Volkov, Oleg Kononenko, and Yi So-Yeon (Korean Astronaut Program).
Volkov and Kononenko participated in Expedition 17 and they returned to Earth in October 2008. Richard Garriott, who had arrived on Soyuz TMA-13 eleven days earlier, returned with them.
Yi So-Yeon remained on the ISS for almost eleven days and returned on Soyuz TMA-11.
John Oates, born April 7, 1948 in New York City, is half of one of the most successful duo acts in history, Hall & Oates. He met Daryl Hall while they were attending Temple University in Philadelphia and formed the iconic duo. He co-wrote many of their songs and was the main guitarist for the group.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, as a member of Hall & Oates.
Oates still records music as a solo artist. His latest album Reunion was released last year.
The twenty-eighth episode of the first season of Star Trek (the original series) The City on the Edge of Forever, first aired April 6. 1967. Anomalous waves emanating from a strange planet wreaks havoc on the Enterprise, and causes Dr. McCoy to inject himself with a dangerous drug, resulting in psychotic episodes. In his crazed state, he beams down to the planet below.
Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Lieutenant Uhura and a security beam down after him. They find the the Guardian of Forever, a time portal showing Earth's past events in fast time. Bones jumps through the portal and changes the past. Kirk, Spock, and Uhura realize they are trapped, since the Enterprise no longer exists.
Kirk and Spock jump through the portal to locate McCoy before he can do the damage he caused to the current time line.
It's considered by fans to be the best episode of the entire series. The final line is uttered by Kirk when he says "Let's get the hell out of here."
The InSight Mars lander, launched in May 2018, recorded the first marsquake April 6, 2019. A smaller tremor had been recorded in March but the signals were so small, its origin made it difficult to determine their source.
On May 2022, a marsquake of magnitude 5 was detected on May 4, 2022.
Billy Dee Williams, born April 6, 1937 in New York City, is best known for his role as Lando Calrissian in Star Wars Episodes V: The Empire Strikes Back, VI: Return of the Jedi, and IX: The Rise of Skywalker. He's also voice Calrissian in many of the spin-offs and Lego versions. He received two Saturn nominations for his role as Calrissian.
He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his performance in Brian's Song.
Soyuz TMA-21 crew (L-R): Ronald Garan, Aleksandr Samokutyavey, Andrei Borisenko
Soyuz TMA-21, launched April 4, 2011, carried members of Expedition 27 to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Andrey Borisenko, and Ronald Garan (NASA). They participated in Expeditions 27-28, before returning to Earth in September 2011.
