The week that was
Check out what happened in history
1912
10 April
White Star Line’s RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton on her first and only voyage. The “unsinkable” ocean liner measured 883ft from bow to stern and the hull was divided into 16 “watertight” compartments. It boasted extravagant decor, lavish menus and rich cargo and carried some of the world’s wealthiest people on her voyage to New York. On Sunday, 14 April, at 11.40pm, and after ignoring warnings, she hit an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic and sank within three hours. Only 706 of the 2,229 passengers and crew survived.
1974
6 April
Abba won the Eurovision song contest.
Swedish group ABBA kick-started their journey to world pop domination when they performed Waterloo at the Eurovision Song Contest. With their conductor Sven-olof Walldoff dressed as Napoleon, the quartet, in synthetic outfits and glittery make-up, bounded on to the stage for a career-defining three-minute spot. Not only did ABBA win the competition – held at Brighton Dome after Luxembourg declined to host the event for a second consecutive year – but Waterloo topped the charts across Europe and reached No6 in the US.
1925
10 April The Great Gatsby was published. 1994
8 April Rock star Kurt Cobain, 27, took his own life.
The body of the Nirvana frontman was found in a greenhouse at his Seattle home. The star had been missing for several days and left a suicide note saying, “I don’t have the passion any more, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.” Kurt had been badly affected by his parents’ divorce when he was nine and later struggled with the pressures of fame. His death fuelled the idea of the 27 Club – musicians, artists and actors who have died aged 27.
Set in the Roaring
Twenties, an era of lavish parties, hedonism and decadence, F Scott Fitzgerald’s story is widely considered “the great American novel”. The book, his best-known work, sold only 20,000 of the 75,000 copies expected in its first year. However, it has since sold 25 million copies and been performed on stage, turned into an opera and fuelled five films.
6 April
1896
The first modern Olympic Games kicked off in Athens.
The inaugural modern Games attracted 280 male athletes 1,500 years after the Roman Emperor Theodosius had banned them. No women were allowed to participate in the 1896 games, held in Athens, and a few of the entrants were tourists who had blundered in by accident. The swimming events were held in the Bay of Zea. The winners were presented with silver medals and olive branches.
1969
9 April
Sikh bus drivers won the right to wear turbans on duty.
When Sohan Singh Jolly settled in England, he had his hair cut by his family who believed he’d never get a job while wearing a turban. Later, aged 23, he began working as a bus driver for the Wolverhampton Transport Committee. Male Sikh drivers in the city were banned from wearing turbans, but Sohan threatened to set himself on fire in protest, and the rule was scrapped “in the interests of race relations”.