"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" wins two Academy Awards 1978

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a Steven Spielberg blockbuster released in December 1977, won two Academy Awards at the 50th ceremony April 3, 1978.   It won Best Cinematography for Vilmos Zsigmond, and a Special Achievement Award for sound effects editing for Frank Warner.

It was nominated for Best Director for Spielberg, Best Supporting Actress for Melinda Dillon, Best Original Score for John Williams (he lost to himself), Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.  It lost out to Star Wars in every category except Cinematography. 

Soyuz T-11 launched 1984

Soyuz T-11 launch crew (L-R): Gennady Strekalov, Rakesh Sharma, Yuri Malyshev

Soyuz T-11, launched April 3, 1984, carried the first Indian cosmonaut into space.  The spacecraft docked with Salyut 7.  Its crew consisted of Commander Yuri Malyshev, Gennady Strekalov, and Rakesh Sharma.  

Soyuz T-11 remained docked with the space station until October.  Its landing crew consisted of Commander Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov, and Oleg Atkov.

"Dallas" premieres 1978

The granddaddy of all nighttime dramas, Dallas, premiered on television April 2, 1978.  The long-running series lasted 14 seasons, not counting the reboot a few years ago, and won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Barbara Bel Geddes.  It also won four Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Costume Design, twice for Outstanding Music Composition, and one for Barbara Bel Geddes for Best Actress.

Sir Alec Guinness, Star Wars actor, born 1914

Alec Guinness, born April 2, 1914 in London, England, is best known for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars movie franchise.  He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he also won a Golden Globe.  He also won an Honorary Academy Award in 1980.  He was nominated four more times for Oscars including his role as Obi-Wan, for which he won a Saturn Award.

My favorite Alec Guinness movie is The Man in the White Suit. 

He passed away in August 2000.

Zond 1 launched 1964

Zond 1, launched April 2, 1964, was the second Soviet spacecraft to reach Venus.  On its journey, a slow leak formed in a crack in a sensor window, which caused the compartment to lose air pressure.  The vacuum tubes, used in Soviet electronics, overheat without air to cool them.  Ground control turned on Zond 1's radio system when there was little atmosphere inside. The electronics shorted out.  

By the middle of April 1964, all transmissions from the main spacecraft had ceased, but ground control could still communicate with the lander, and they received space radiation and spectrometer measurements.  

Two course corrections were performed during the flight but the second one was off by 65 ft/sec, and ground controllers placed it into a spin-stabilization mode.  By May 14, all communications failed, and on July 14 it passed within 100,000 km of Venus.

Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Time Squared" airs 1989

The thirteenth episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Time Squared (one of my favorites), aired April 1, 1989.  The crew of the Enterprise encounters a shuttlecraft, drifting in space with a duplicate of Captain Picard inside.  They soon find out that he is from a few hours in the future, when the USS Enterprise is destroyed.  

"The Sound of Music" released 1965

One of the most successful movies of all time, The Sound of Music, was released April 1, 1965.  It starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, in the story of the Von Trapp family in the days before WWII.

It won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, and two Golden Globes, for Best Picture and Best Actress for Julie Andrews.