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Hiroshima, Hiroshima

Hiroshima, Hiroshima

The city of Hiroshima (Shinjitai: 広島市; Kyūjitai: 廣島市; -shi) is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest of Japan's islands. Geographical location (City Hall). It is most known throughout the world as the first city in history subjected to nuclear warfare. Hiroshima gained municipality status on April 1, 1889 and was designated on April 1, 1980 by government ordinance. As of 2004, the city's mayor is Tadatoshi Akiba.

History

Tadatoshi Akiba of its nuclear bombardment]] Hiroshima was founded in 1589, on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, and became a major urban center during the Meiji period. The city is located on the broad, flat delta of the Ota River, which has 7 channel outlets dividing the city into six islands which project into Hiroshima Bay. The city is almost entirely flat and only slightly above sea level; to the northwest and northeast of the city, some hills rise to 700 feet. Hiroshima was founded by Mori Motonari as his capital. About a half century later, after the Battle of Sekigahara, his grandson and the leader of the West Army Mori Terumoto was on the losing side. The winner Tokugawa Ieyasu deprived Mori Terumoto of most of his fiefs including Hiroshima and gave Aki province to another daimyo who had supported him. Finally Asano was appointed the daimyo of this area and Hiroshima served as the capital of Hiroshima han during the Edo period. After the han was abolished the city became the capital of Hiroshima prefecture. During the First Sino-Japanese War, Hiroshima emerged as a major supply and logistics base for the Japanese military. This role continued until World War II.

Atomic bombing

On 6th August 1945, the nuclear weapon Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, killing an estimated 80,000 civilians and heavily damaging the city. It was the second such device to be detonated, and the first ever to be used in military action. The American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are commonly believed to be the major factor leading to the surrender of the Japanese government six days after the latter attack. However, at the time the atomic bombs were dropped, the Japanese position was extremely weak and defeat was considered inevitable by some historians even without the use of the atomic bombs. Others propose that with Soviet forces massing in Manchuria, dwindling resources, and America's total control of the western Pacific, Japanese defeat was only a matter of time, but the atomic bombs had clearly hastened the decision to surrender. However, Japanese soldiers had proven a willingness to fight to the death, refuse surrender, and an invasion of the Japanese mainland would likely have killed more soldiers and civilians, according to U.S. plans for the invasion. After the nuclear attack, Hiroshima was rebuilt as a “peace memorial city”, and the closest surviving building to the location of the bomb's detonation was designated the "Atomic Bomb Dome," a part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The city government continues to advocate the abolition of nuclear weapons, and has advocated more broadly for world peace. They have written a letter of protest every time a nuclear weapon has been detonated anywhere in the world since 1968. nuclear weapon

After the war

Hiroshima was rebuilt after the war, with new modern buildings rising all over the city. Several civic leaders and scholars were consulted about the rebuilding plan. In 1949, Hiroshima was proclaimed a City of Peace by the Japanese parliament, at the initiative of its mayor Shinzo Hamai (b. 1905-d. 1968). As a result, the city of Hiroshima was receiving more international attention as a desirable location for holding international conferences on peace as well as social issues. As part of that effort, the Hiroshima Interpreters' and Guide's Association (HIGA) was established in 1992 in order to facilitate translation services for conferences, and the Hiroshima Peace Institute was established in 1998 within the Hiroshima University. In 1994, the city of Hiroshima hosted the Asian Games. Asian Games Also, as a result of the atomic bombing, Hiroshima began to receive donations of streetcars from all over Japan. (After World War II, Japanese cities - like British ones - were anxious to get rid of their streetcar systems due to damage to the infrastructure, and so there were plenty of streetcars available to give away.) Hiroshima thus rebuilt its streetcar system along with the rest of the city, and thus Hiroshima is the only city in Japan with an extensive streetcar system (although other cities have streetcar lines). Some streetcars that survived the war - and the nuclear attack - were put back into service, and four of these are still running today. For the most part, however, Hiroshima has updated its streetcars over the years. infrastructure Tens of thousands of people marked the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city on August 6, 1985.

Attractions

1985 Baseball fans immediately recognize the city as the home of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. Six-time champions of Japan's Central League, the team has gone on to win the Japan Series three times. Sanfrecce Hiroshima is the city's J. League football team. Hiroshima's rebuilt castle (nicknamed Rijō, meaning Koi Castle) houses a museum of life in the Edo period. Itsukushima ("Miyajima") Shrine is in the town of Miyajima, on the island of Itsukushima, across from Hiroshima. Its large red "floating" gate is one of the best known sights of Japan. Although it lies outside the city of Hiroshima, it is accessible by streetcar or railroad (and ferry) from the central train station. Hiroshima is known for its version of okonomiyaki, called "Hiroshima-yaki" or "Hiroshima pancake." The Hiroshima version of okonomiyaki is unique for its inclusion of yakisoba noodles.
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial
- Hiroshima Castle
- Shukkei Garden
- Mitaki Temple

Wards

Hiroshima has 8 wards (ku):
- Aki-ku
- Asakita-ku
- Asaminami-ku
- Higashi-ku
- Minami-ku
- Naka-ku
- Nishi-ku
- Saeki-ku

Demographics

As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 1,136,684 and the density of 1532.44 persons per km². The total area is 741.75 km².

Industry

Mazda Motor Company, now controlled by the Ford Motor Company, is by far Hiroshima's dominant company. Mazda makes many models in Hiroshima for worldwide export, including the popular MX-5/Miata and Mazda RX-7. The Mazda CX-7 is slated to be built here in early 2006. Other Mazda factories are in Hofu and Flat Rock, Michigan.

Sister cities


- Chongqing, China
- Daegu, South Korea
- Hannover, Germany
- Honolulu, United States
- Montreal, Canada
- Volgograd, Russia

Further reading


- Pacific War Research Society, “Japan's Longest Day”, the internal Japanese account of the surrender and how it was almost thwarted by fanatic soldiers who attempted a coup against the Emperor.
- Richard B. Frank, “Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire” (Penguin, 2001 ISBN 0141001461), a thorough analysis of all the available contemporaneous intel from the perspectives of the various participants during the last months of the war. Uses newly declassified US military intelligence records and other primary sources from many countries to make the case that bombing had a huge net saving of lives, Japanese and American, over an invasion. The author shows why the Japanese were preparing to continue the fight for an indefinite period and why they expected that a bloody defense of their main islands would lead to something less than unconditional surrender and a continuation of their existing government.
- Robert Jungk, Children of the Ashes, 1st Eng. ed. 1961
- Gar Alperovitz, The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb, ISBN 067976285X
- John Hersey, Hiroshima, ISBN 0679721037

See also


- Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Barefoot Gen
- Enola Gay
- Ground Zero
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial
- Kokura
- Nagasaki
- Yoshito Matsushige

External links


- [http://www.city.hiroshima.jp/e/index-E.html Official website] in English
- [http://www.betterworldlinks.org/book80.htm "Better World Links" on Hiroshima and Nagasaki]
- [http://www.city.hiroshima.jp/shimin/heiwa/peaceenglish.html Devotion to the Cause of Peace] - The City of Hiroshima projects for male volunteers in the Red Cross Hiroshima Hospital and Kummanoto Hospital, caring for survivors of the atomic bomb
- [http://www.subways.net/japan/hiroshima.htm Hiroshima Hiroden Streetcars]
- [http://apike.ca/japan_hiroshima.html Hiroshima City] Travel and Event Guide
- [http://montages.blogspot.com/2004/08/remembering-korean-atom-bomb-victims.html Remembering the Korean Atom Bomb Victims]
- [http://www.geocities.com/peterance/hiroshima.htm Peter Rance's 1951 Hiroshima Photographs]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.409523,132.468681&spn=0.166014,0.234180&t=k&hl=en Satellite picture by Google Maps]
- [http://citymayors.com/mayors/hiroshima_mayor.html CityMayors article] Category:Cities in Japan Category:Cities in Hiroshima Prefecture Category:Nuclear warfare Category:Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ko:히로시마 시 ja:広島市 simple:Hiroshima th:ฮิโรชิมา

Hiroshima Prefecture

Hiroshima Prefecture (広島県 Hiroshima-ken) is located in the Chugoku region on Honshu island, Japan. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.

History

The area around Hiroshima, formerly divided into Bingo and Aki provinces, has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded history. Hiroshima is a traditional center of the Chugoku region and was the seat of the Mori clan until the Battle of Sekigahara. Hiroshima is home to two UNESCO World Heritage sites: # the Atomic Dome in Hiroshima, one of the few remnants of prewar Hiroshima following the atomic bombing of 1945 # Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima, famed for filling with water and appearing to "float" during high tide

Geography

Hiroshima prefecture lies in the middle of Chugoku, facing Shikoku across the Seto Inland Sea. Most of the prefecture consists of mountains leading towards Shimane Prefecture, but rivers produce rich plains near the coast, and the prefecture also includes many small islands in the Inland Sea. The sheltered nature of the Inland Sea makes Hiroshima's climate very mild.

Cities


- Akitakata
- Etajima
- Fuchu
- Fukuyama
- Hatsukaichi
- Higashihiroshima
- Hiroshima
  - Aki-ku
  - Asakita-ku
  - Asaminami-ku
  - Higashi-ku
  - Minami-ku
  - Naka-ku
  - Nishi-ku
  - Saeki-ku
- Innoshima
- Kure
- Mihara
- Miyoshi
- Onomichi
- Otake
- Shobara
- Takehara

Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district.

Mergers

Shobara expansion

On March 31, 2005, the towns of Hiwa, Kuchiwa, Saijo, Takano, and Tojo, from the former Hiba District (dissolved by this action) and the town of Souryo from the former Konu District (dissolved by this action) merged into the expanded city of Shobara .

Mihara expansion

On March 22, 2005, the town of Daiwa from the former Kamo District (dissolved by this action), the town of Kui from Mitsugi District, and the town of Hongo from Toyota District merged into the expanded city of Mihara .

Kure expansion

On March 20, 2005, the towns of Ondo, Kurahashi, Kamagari from Aki District and the towns of Yasuura, Toyohama and Yutaka from Toyota District merged into the expanded city of Kure.

Higashihiroshima expansion

On February 7, 2005, Fukutomi, Kochi, Kurose, and Toyosaka from Kamo District and Akitsu from Toyota District merged into the expanded city of Higashihiroshima.

Fukuyama expansion

On February 1, 2005, Numakuma from Numakuma District (dissolved by this action) merged with the expanded city of Fukuyama.

Kitahiroshima merger

On February 1, 2005, Chiyoda, Geihoku, Oasa, and Toyohira from Yamagata District merged, creating the town of Kitahiroshima.

Jinsekikogen merger

On November 5, 2004, the towns of Jinseki, Sanwa, and Yuki and the village of Toyomatsu from Jinseki District merged, creating the town of Jinsekikogen.

Etajima merger

On November 1, 2004, the town of Etajima from Aki District merged with the towns of Nomi, Ogaki, and Okimi from Saeki District forming the city of Etajima.

Akiota merger

On October 1, 2004, Kake, Togouchi, and Tsutsuga from Yamagata District merged, creating the town of Akiota.

Sera expansion

On October 1, 2004, the towns of Kozan and Seranishi from Sera District merged into the expanded town of Sera.

Kure expansion

On April 1, 2004, the town of Kawajiri from Toyota Distrcit merged into the expanded city of Kure.

Fuchu expansion

On April 1, 2004, the town of Joge from Konu District merged with the expanded city of Fuchu.

Miyoshi expansion

On April 1, 2004, Funo, Kimita, Kisa, Mirasaka, Miwa, and Sakugi from Futami District (dissolved by this action) and Konu from Konu District merged into the expanded city of Miyoshi.

Akitakata merger

On March 1, 2004, Kōta, Midori, Mukaihara, Takamiya, Yachiyo, and Yoshida from Takata District (dissolved by this action) merged, creating the city of Akitakata.

Fukuyama expansion

On February 3, 2003, Shin'ichi from Ashina District (dissolved by this action) merged into the expanded city of Fukuyama.

Economy

Hiroshima's main industries include automobiles (Mazda is headquartered in Hiroshima Prefecture) and shipbuilding (Kure was one of the main naval bases of the Imperial Japanese Navy and remains a major commercial yard).

Demographics

Culture

Imperial Japanese Navy]

Tourism


- Hiroshima Peace Memorial
- Hiroshima Castle
- Shukukei Garden
- Mitaki Temple
- Itsukushima Shrine
- Momiji-dani Park
- Mt. Misen
- Miyajima Aquarium
- Senko Temple
- Jodo Temple
- Saikoku Temple
- Onomichi Castle
- Onomichi City Art Museum

Prefectural symbols

Miscellaneous topics

External links


- [http://www.pref.hiroshima.jp/index-e.html Official Hiroshima Prefecture homepage]
- [http://hirohurl.net/hiroshima.html Life in Hiroshima and other Japan-related Articles]
- [http://www.asinah.org/weather/RJOA.html Hiroshima Weather Forecast]
- Category:Chugoku region ko:히로시마 현 ja:広島県

Chugoku region

The Chūgoku region (中国地方 Chūgoku-chihō) is the westernmost region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan.

History

The name literally means "Middle Country", a relic of a historical division of Japan into "Near Countries" (近国 Kingoku, but in modern parlance Kinki), "Middle Countries" and "Far Countries" (遠国 Ongoku), based on distance from the capital Nara or Kyoto. Strictly speaking, today's Chūgoku covers only the Middle Countries to the west of Kyoto, along the Sanindo (山陰道) and Sanyodo (山陽道) roads. In Japanese, the characters 中国 and the reading Chūgoku are also used to mean "China" (more precisely, People's Republic of China since Republic of China is never referred to as China but Taiwan in Japan.) The same characters are used in Chinese, but pronounced Zhōngguó. To avoid confusing "Chugoku region" with "China", the Chugoku region also called the "San'in-San'yō region". San'in is the northern part facing the Japan Sea, which indicates the "shady side of the mountain". San'yo is the southern part facing the Inland Sea, which indicates the "sunny side of the mountain". These names originated from the marked differences in climate.

Outline

The Chugoku region consists of the following prefectures: Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Shimane and Tottori. Okayama is commonly included, although only Bitchu Province was considered a Middle Country, Mimasaka Province and Bizen Province, the other two components of modern-day Okayama, were considered Near Countries. The Chugoku region is characterized by irregular rolling hills and limited plain areas and is divided into two distinct parts by mountains running east and west through its center. The city of Hiroshima, the "capital" of the Chugoku region, was rebuilt after being destroyed by an atomic bomb in 1945, and is now an industrial metropolis of more than one million people. Overfishing and pollution reduced the productivity of the Inland Sea fishing grounds, and the area concentrated on heavy industry. Sanin, however, is less industrialized and relies on agriculture. Kyushu and Kansai neighbor the Chugoku region.

Sightseeing


- Hiroshima Prefecture: Hiroshima, Itsukushima Shrine
- Yamaguchi Prefecture: Iwakuni, Hofu, Shimonoseki, Hagi
- Shimane Prefecture: Tsuwano, Izumo, Matsue ---- See also: Geography of Japan, List of regions in Japan.

External link


- [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Chugoku Wikitravel: Chugoku]

Reference


- - [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jptoc.html Japan]
- ko:주고쿠 지방 ja:中国地方

Honshu

Honshū (本州) is the largest island of Japan, called the Mainland; it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait. It is the seventh largest island, and the second most populous island in the world after Java (see the list of islands by size, population). The island is roughly 1300 km long and ranges from 50 to 230 km wide, and its total area is 230,500 km², around 60% of the total area of Japan. It is larger than the island of Great Britain, and ranks between the states of Minnesota and Michigan in area. Honshu has 5450 km of coastline. Mountainous and volcanic, Honshu has frequent earthquakes (the Great Kantō earthquake heavily damaged Tokyo in September 1923); the highest peak is the active volcano Mount Fuji at 3,776 m. There are many rivers, including the Shinano River, Japan's longest. The climate is highly variable from the cool north to the subtropical south. The population is 98,352,000 (as of 1990, in 1975 it was 89,101,702), concentrated in the available lowlands, notably in the Kanto plain where 25% of the total population reside in and around Tokyo and Yokohama. Other cities include Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima, Sendai, and Nagoya. The island is nominally divided into five regions and contains 34 prefectures, including metropolitan Tokyo. The regions are Chugoku (southern), Kansai (southern, above Chugoku), Chubu (central), Kanto (eastern), and Tohoku (northern). Three-fourths of Japan's main, major, and modern cities are here on Honshu, including the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, Kyoto, Akita, Sendai, Fukushima, Niigata, and Hiroshima. Cultural centers are also present, such as Kyoto (which is both modern and cultural), Nara, and Kamakura. The island also includes important agricultural regions. Niigata is noted as an important producer of rice. The Kanto and Nobi plains produce rice and vegetables. Yamanashi is a major fruit-growing area, and Aomori is famous for its apples. A mountain range runs along the length of Honshu from end to end. In addition to Mt. Fuji, the Japanese Alps are features of Honshu. The mountains are responsible for a marked difference in climate between the eastern or southern (Pacific or Inland Sea coast) side, and the western or northern (Sea of Japan coast) side. The prefectures are:
- Chugoku — Hiroshima-ken, Okayama-ken, Shimane-ken, Tottori-ken, Yamaguchi-ken.
- Kansai — Hyogo-ken, Kyoto-fu, Mie-ken, Nara-ken, Osaka-fu, Shiga-ken, Wakayama-ken.
- Chubu — Aichi-ken, Fukui-ken, Gifu-ken, Ishikawa-ken, Nagano-ken, Niigata-ken, Toyama-ken, Shizuoka-ken, Yamanashi-ken.
- Kanto — Chiba-ken, Gunma-ken, Ibaraki-ken, Kanagawa-ken, Saitama-ken, Tochigi-ken, Tokyo-to.
- Tohoku — Akita-ken, Aomori-ken, Fukushima-ken, Iwate-ken, Miyagi-ken, Yamagata-ken. Honshu is connected to the islands of Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku by tunnels or bridges. Three new bridge systems have been built across the islands of the Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku (Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge and the Ohnaruto Bridge; Shin-Onomichi Bridge, Innoshima Bridge, Ikuchi Bridge, Tatara Bridge, Ohmishima Bridge, Hakata-Ohshima Bridges, and the Kurushima-Kaikyo Bridge; Shimotsui-Seto Bridge, Hitsuishijima Bridge, Iwakurojima Bridge, Yoshima Bridge, Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge, and the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge), and the Seikan Tunnel connects Honshu with Hokkaido. Category:Geography of Japan ko:혼슈 ja:本州



Nuclear warfare

Nuclear war, or atomic war, is war in which nuclear weapons are used. In general the discussion can be broken down further into subgroups. In the limited nuclear war (sometimes attack or exchange) only small numbers of weapons are used in a tactical exchange aimed primarily at opposing military forces. In the full-scale nuclear war large numbers of weapons are used in an attack aimed at an entire country, both military and civilian targets being "fair game". Soon after the first use of atomic weapons, a doomsday clock was created by the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists as a symbolic countdown to full-scale nuclear war.

Hiroshima to Semipalatinsk

The United States is the only nation to have actually used nuclear weapons in war, having in 1945 dropped two of them on cities in Japan – one on Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki. For several years after World War II, the US developed and maintained a strategic force based on the Convair B-36 bomber that would be able to attack any potential aggressor from bomber bases in the US. The possibility of an actual nuclear attack on the US was considered somewhat remote because no other nation had "the bomb". Instead, many strategists were fearful that a rogue general would launch an attack on the Soviet Union independently and without orders (as suggested in the novel Fail-Safe and the film Dr. Strangelove). To assuage this fear, the US placed its nuclear weapons under the control of a new, separate agency named The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). In the event of a war, the Strategic Air Command (or SAC) bombers would be moved to AEC bases to be loaded with bombs in a process that would likely have taken several days. Over a period of a few years, many in the US defense community became increasingly convinced of the invincibility of the United States to a nuclear attack. Indeed, it became generally believed that the threat of nuclear war would deter any strike against the United States. Simultaneously, there was some discussion about placing the AEC's arsenal under international control or placing limits on its development. On August 29, 1949 the USSR tested its first bomb at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan (see also Soviet atomic bomb project). Scientists in the United States from the Manhattan Project had warned that in time the Soviet Union would certainly develop a nuclear capability of its own. Nevertheless, the effect upon military thinking and planning in the US was astounding, primarily due to the fact that American military strategists had not anticipated the Soviets would 'catch up' this soon. However, at this time, they had not discovered that the Russians had conducted significant espionage of the project from spies at Los Alamos, the most significant of which were Theodore Hall and Klaus Fuchs. The first Soviet bomb was more or less a deliberate copy of the Fat Man device. With the proverbial cat out of the bag, world-wide nuclear proliferation accelerated. Britain tested its first atomic bomb in 1952, and France in 1960. Notably the Western European arsenals have always been nearly insignificant compared to those of the superpowers, and it was the nuclear weapons of the USA and USSR which were of greatest concern to the world for the remainder of the 20th century.

The Cold War

Though the USSR now had nuclear weapon capabilities, the US still had a massive advantage in terms of bombers and weapons. In any exchange of hostilities, the US would be easily capable of bombing the USSR, while the USSR would have some difficulty arranging the reverse.

The 1950's

The widespread introduction of jet-powered interceptor aircraft upset this balance somewhat by reducing the effectiveness of the US bomber fleet. In 1949 Curtis LeMay was placed in command of the Strategic Air Command and instituted a program to update the bomber fleet to one that was all-jet. During the early 1950s the B-47 and B-52 were introduced, providing the ability to bomb the USSR more easily. Before the development of a capable strategic missile force in the Soviet Union, much of the war-fighting doctrine held by western nations revolved around the use of a large number of smaller nuclear weapons used in a tactical role. It is arguable if such use could be considered "limited" however, because it was believed that the US would use their own strategic weapons (mainly bombers at the time) should the USSR deploy any kind of nuclear weapon against civilian targets. Several scares about the increasing ability of the USSR's strategic bomber forces surfaced during the 1950s. The defensive response by the US was to deploy a fairly strong layered defense consisting of interceptor aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles and guns, like the Nike or Skysweeper, near larger cities. However this was a small response compared to the construction of a huge fleet of nuclear bombers. The main strategy was to massively penetrate the USSR. Because such a large area could not be defended against attack in any credible way, the USSR would "lose" any exchange. This logic became ingrained in US combat strategy and persisted for the duration of the Cold War. As long as the strategic force of the US was larger than the USSR's forces in total, there was nothing to worry about. Moreover, the USSR could not afford to build any reasonable counterforce; the economic output of the United States was such that the USSR could never catch up, because the whole country was devastated economically. A new revolution in thinking occurred with the introduction of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which the USSR first successfully tested in the late 1950s. To deliver a warhead to a target, a missile was far less expensive than a bomber that could do the same job. Moreover, at the time it was impossible to intercept ICBMs due to their high altitude and speed. The USSR could now afford to go head-to-head with the US in terms of raw numbers, although for a time they appeared to have chosen not to. Photos of Soviet missile sites set off a wave of panic in the US military, something the launch of Sputnik would do for the public a few years later. Politicians, notably then US Senator John Kennedy suggested a "missile gap" between the Soviets and the US. This was a savvy political ploy as the US administration almost certainly knew better and also knew that they could not be corrected without violating military security. One result of this, however, was that the Soviets believed the vulnerability actually existed, with resulting temptation; luckily cooler heads prevailed. After Kennedy won the 1960 Presidential election, the "missile gap" conveniently went away. The US military gave missile development programs the highest national priority, and several spy aircraft and reconnaissance satellites were designed and deployed to check on Soviet progress.

The 1960's

Issues came to a head during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The USSR backed down from what could have been the spark for a nuclear war, and decided to institute a massive building program of their own. By the late 1960s numbers of ICBMs and warheads were so high on both sides that either the USA or USSR was capable of destroying the other country's infrastructure. Thus a balance of power system known as mutually assured destruction (MAD) came into being. It was thought that the possibility of a general thermonuclear war was so deadly neither power would risk initiating one. One problem with this idea was that it was entirely possible a nuclear war could have occurred without either side intentionally striking first. Early warning systems are notoriously error-prone. On 78 occasions in 1979, for example, a "missile display conference" was called to evaluate detections potentially threatening to the North American continent. Some of these were trivial errors, spotted quickly. But several went to more serious levels. For example, on 26 September 1983, Stanislav Petrov received convincing indications of a US first strike launch against the USSR - but had the instinct that it was a computer error and, contrary to his orders, sat on his hands. Similar incidents happened many times in the US, due to failed computer chips, flights of geese (6 December 1950), test programs, bureaucratic failures to notify early warning military men of legitimate launches of test or weather missiles. And for many years, US strategic bombers were kept airborne on a rotating basis round the clock until the sheer number and gravity of accidents persuaded policymakers it was not worth it.

The 1970's

By the late 1970s, citizens in the US and USSR (and indeed the entire world) had been living with MAD for about a decade. It became deeply ingrained into the popular culture. Such an exchange would have killed many millions of individuals directly and possibly induced a nuclear winter which could have led to the death of a large portion of humanity and certainly the collapse of global civilization. Many movies such as The Day After, Testament, Threads, WarGames, and Dr.Strangelove depict this scenario, as did the Planet of the Apes (1968-1973) and Mad Max (1979-1985) films. According to the 1980 United Nations report General and Complete Disarmament: Comprehensive Study on Nuclear Weapons: Report of the Secretary-General, it was estimated that in total there were approximately 40,000 nuclear warheads in existence at that time with a total yield of approximately 13,000 megatons of TNT. By comparison, when the volcano Tambora erupted in 1815 it exploded with a force of roughly 1000 megatons of TNT. Many people believed that a full-scale nuclear war could result in the extinction of the human species, though not all analysts agreed on the assumptions required for these models. The idea that any nuclear conflict would eventually escalate into MAD was a challenge for military strategists. This challenge was particularly severe for the United States and its NATO allies because it was believed until the 1970s that a Soviet tank invasion of Western Europe would quickly overwhelm NATO conventional forces, leading to the necessity of escalating to theater nuclear weapons. A number of interesting concepts were developed. Early ICBMs were inaccurate which led to the concept of counter-city strikes -- attacks directly on the enemy population leading to a collapse of the enemy's will to fight, although it appears that this was the American interpretation of the Soviet stance while the Soviet strategy was never clearly anti-population. During the Cold War the USSR invested in extensive protected civilian infrastructure such as large nuclear proof bunkers and non-perishable food stores. In the US, by comparison, little to no preparations were made for civilians at all, except for the occasional backyard fallout shelter built by private individuals. This was part of a deliberate strategy on the Americans' part that stressed the difference between first and second strike strategies. By leaving their population largely exposed, this gave the impression that the US had no intention of launching a first strike nuclear war, as their cities would clearly be obliterated in the retaliation. The US also made a point during this period of targeting their missiles on Russian population centers rather than military targets. This was intended to reinforce the second strike pose. If the Soviets attacked first, then there would be no point in destroying empty missile silos that had already launched; the only thing left to hit would be cities. By contrast, if America had gone to great lengths to protect their citizens and targeted the enemy's silos, that might have led the Russians to believe the US was planning a first strike, where they would eliminate Soviet missiles while still in their silos and be able to survive a weakened counter attack in their reinforced bunkers. In this way, both sides were (theoretically) assured that the other would not strike first, and a war without a first strike will not occur. This strategy had one major and very possibly critical flaw, soon realised by military analysts but highly underplayed by the US military: Conventional NATO forces in the European theatre of war were considered to be outnumbered by similar Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces, and while the western countries invested heavily in high-tech conventional weapons to counter this (partly perceived) imbalance, it was assumed that in case of a major Soviet attack (commonly perceived as the 'red tanks rolling towards the North Sea' scenario) that NATO, in the face of conventional defeat, would soon have no other choice but to resort to tactical nuclear strikes. Most analysts agreed that once the first nuclear exchange had occurred, escalation to global nuclear war would become almost inevitable. So, while official US policy was a clearly stated 'non first-use policy', never to strike first with nuclear weapons, the reality was that the lack of strength of conventional NATO forces would force the US to either abandon Western Europe or use nuclear weapons in its defense. Even though investigations after the Soviet collapse by historians and military analysts revealed that the effectiveness of Warsaw Pact forces was rated far higher than they really were, official NATO doctrine had been critically flawed from the outset and global thermonuclear war would have been a very real possibility had actual conflict occurred. This major flaw, although largely ignored by the military community, quickly gathered public interest and many movies and books were based upon this and several other weaknesses in the policy of mutually assured destruction. As missile technology improved, the emphasis moved to counter-force strikes: ones that directly attacked the enemy's means of waging war. This was the predominant doctrine from the late 1960s onwards. Additionally the development of warheads (at least in the US) moved towards delivering a small explosive force more accurately and with a "cleaner" blast (with fewer long-lasting radioactive isotopes). In any conflict therefore, damage would have been initially limited to military targets, there may well have been 'withholds' for targets near civilian areas. The argument was that the destruction of a city would be a military advantage to the attacked. The enemy had used up weapons and a threat in the destruction while the attacked was relieved of the need to defend the city and still had their entire military potential untouched. Only if a nuclear conflict were extended into a number of 'spasm' strikes would direct strikes against civilians occur as the more accurate weapons would be expended early; if one side was 'losing', the potential for using less accurate submarine-launched missiles would occur.

The 1980's

Another major shift in nuclear doctrine was the development of the submarine-based nuclear missile, the SLBM. It was hailed by military theorists as a weapon that would assure a surprise attack would not destroy the capability to retaliate, and therefore would make nuclear war less likely. However, it was soon realised that submarines could 'sneak up' close to enemy coastlines and decrease the 'warning time'- the time between detection of the launch and impact of the missile - from as much as half an hour to under three minutes. This greatly increased the credibility of a 'surprise first strike' by one of the factions and theoretically made it possible to knock out or disrupt the chain of command before a counterstrike could be ordered. It strengthened the notion that a nuclear war could be 'won' and this resulted not only in greatly increased tension but also in a dramatic increase in military spending. The submarines and their missile systems were very expensive (one fully equipped nuclear powered nuclear missile submarine could easily cost more than the entire GNP of a third world nation), but the greatest cost came in the development of both sea- and land-based anti-submarine defenses and in improving and strengthening the chain of command. As a result, military spending skyrocketed.

Current concerns

With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, conflict between the United States and Russia appears much less likely. Stockpiles of nuclear warheads are being reduced on both sides and tensions between the two countries have greatly reduced. The concerns of political strategists have now shifted to other areas of the world. Current fears of nuclear war are mainly centred around India (first test May 18, 1974, the "Smiling Buddha" test) and Pakistan (first test May 1998), two nations whose majority religions and histories, as well as a territorial dispute in Kashmir and mutual possession of substantial (though probably numbered in dozens rather than thousands) nuclear arsenals makes many extremely nervous. Both have waged several wars over the conflict in Kashmir and the region as a whole is considered highly volatile, with conflicts in Afghanistan and the Middle East considerably influencing policy, and several assassinations of high-ranking government officials and continuing Hindu-Muslim incidents in India heightening both national and international tension. Recent studies undertaken by the CIA cite the enduring Pakistani-Indian conflict as the most likely to escalate into nuclear war. In fact on the brink of defeat in the Kargil War in 1999, Pakistan came close to using its nukes against India in case of further deterioration. It remains the only war where two declared nuclear powers waged atop the highest battlefields on earth. In the case of Pakistan, the threat of radical extremists seizing power and thus control over the nuclear arsenal has raised additional fears. The Pakistani government has disputed these claims, saying that absolute proper measures insure nuclear safety. Another flashpoint which has analysts worried is a possible conflict between the United States and the People's Republic of China over Taiwan. Although economic forces have decreased the possibility of military conflict, there remains the worry that increasing military buildup and a move toward Taiwan independence could spin out of control. A third potential flashpoint lies in the Middle East, where Israel is thought to possess between one and four hundred nuclear warheads (although this has never been officially confirmed by Israel). Israel has been involved in wars with its neighbours on numerous occasions, and its small geographic size would mean that in the event of future wars the Israeli military might have very little time to react to a future invasion or other major threat; the situation could escalate to nuclear warfare very quickly in some scenarios.

Sub-strategic use

The above examples envisage nuclear warfare at a strategic level, i.e. total war. The United Kingdom has a declared policy of sub-strategic nuclear strikes, in which case a limited strike would be carried out. Former Defence Secretary Malcolm Rifkind described this as a deterrence against harm to the UK's vital interests. Rifkind argued that following the end of the Cold War aggressors may believe the threat of a strategic nuclear attack to be bluff, and that a policy of a more limited strike would ensure that the nuclear deterrent had credibility. This sub-strategic policy, and the related potential for a new generation of limited yield "battlefield" nuclear weapons from the United States alarms anti-nuclear groups who believe it will make the use of nuclear weapons a more acceptable part of a country's arsenal.

Nuclear terrorism

In addition, there is the possibility that states that the United States identifies as "rogue states" such as Iran, and North Korea (see North Korea nuclear weapons program) may acquire or manufacture nuclear weapons. North Korea reported having manufactured nuclear weapons; however, other states are skeptical. Nuclear terrorism by non-state organisations could well be more likely, as states possessing nuclear weapons are susceptible to retaliation in kind. Geographically-dispersed and mobile terrorist organizations are not so easy to discourage by the threat of retaliation. Furthermore, while the collapse of the Soviet Union ended the Cold War, it greatly increased the risk that former Soviet nuclear weapons might become available on the black market. Using such a weapon as a foundation, a terrorist might even create a salted bomb capable of dispersing radioactive contamination over a large area, killing a greater number of people than the explosion itself. Pyongyang's opulent subway systems double as hardened bomb shelters capable of sustaining the entire population for several months, raising concerns about their first-strike willingness. Taking a different tack, South Africa declared after its transition from an apartheid regime that it had in fact produced about six crude nuclear weapons as a 'last-resort' weapon against an envisioned race war, but that they have now been destroyed. In fact, the development laboratories and storage facilities have now become a sight-seeing tour.

Glossary

; ABM : Anti-Ballistic Missile. Missiles designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles. Can also refer to the ABM treaty, signed by Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev, which halted the development and use of such systems due to fears that such systems could counter the MAD scenario and, thereby, increase the likelihood that an ABM protected country would use their nuclear weapons aggressively. ; ALCM : Air Launched Cruise Missile. ; Ballistic missile : A missile using a ballistic trajectory involving a significant ascent and descent including suborbital and partial orbital trajectories. ; Cruise missile : A missile using a low altitude trajectory intended to avoid detection by radar systems. Cruise missiles have shorter range and lower payloads than ballistic missiles, usually, and are not known to carry MIRVs. ; GLCM : Ground Launched Cruise Missile. ; ICBM : Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. ; INF : Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987, which eliminated tactical ("battlefield") nuclear devices and GLCMs from Europe. ; MAD : Mutual assured destruction. The doctrine of preventing nuclear war by creating a situation in which any use of nuclear weapons would result in the certain destruction of both the attacker and the defender. ; MIRV : Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicles, nuclear devices carried, usually ten or twelve at a time on a single ICBM, allowing a single launched missile to strike a handful of targets, and allowing a few missiles to strike several targets redundantly. ; SALT I : Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. A treaty signed by Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev in 1972, limiting the growth of US and Soviet missile arsenals. ; SALT II : A treaty designed to further limit the growth of US and Soviet missile arsenals. ; SDI : Strategic Defense Initiative, more commonly known as Star Wars. A system proposed by Ronald Reagan to use space-based systems to detect, intercept and destroy ICBMs and MIRVs. Criticized for its costs, doubts that it would be effective, and concerns that it would violate the ABM treaty and offset MAD, it was not supported by the Congress of the United States at that time. ; SLBM : Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile. ; SLCM : Submarine Launched Cruise Missile. ; START -- STrategic Arms Reductions Treaty : A treaty proposed by Ronald Reagan to reduce the numbers of missiles and warheads. ; START II : A treaty signed by George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin in January 1993 to ban the use of MIRVs.

See also


- Biological warfare
- Chemical warfare
- Conventional warfare
- Nuclear proliferation
- Nuclear arms race
- Weapons of mass destruction
- Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice concerning legality of nuclear weapons
- Square Leg
- Nuclear War (card game)
- No first use policy
- Doomsday clock

External links


- [http://HavenWorks.com/nuclear Nuclear News] at HavenWorks.com
- [http://skeptically.org/onwars/id7.html 20 Mishaps That Might Have Started Accidental Nuclear War] by Alan F. Philips, M.D.
- [http://mt.sopris.net/mpc/military/false.alerts.html More false alerts]
- [http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/contentlookup.cfm?CFID=3094473&CFTOKEN=91124583&ucidparam=20051005115224 US Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations] Category:Nuclear warfare Category:Nuclear weapons ja:核戦争 simple:Nuclear war

April 1

April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining.

Events


- 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
- 1318 - Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by the Scottish from the English
- 1572 - The Watergeuzen succeeded in capturing Den Briel, effectively sealing off the Meuse from the Spaniards.
- 1789 - In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker.
- 1826 - Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine.
- 1854 - Hard Times begins serialisation in Charles Dickens magazine, Household Words.
- 1857 - Herman Melville publishes The Confidence-Man.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks - In Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.
- 1867 - Singapore becomes British crown colony.
- 1868 - Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute is established in Hampton, Virginia
- 1873 - The British steamer SS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia killing 547.
- 1891 - The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1918 - The Royal Flying Corps is replaced by the Royal Air Force.
- 1924 - Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch." However, he spends only nine months in jail, during which he writes the book Mein Kampf.
- 1924 - First revenue flight for Belgium's Sabena Airlines
- 1933 - The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in the series of anti-Semitic acts that will be known as the Holocaust.
- 1934 - Bonnie and Clyde kill two young highway patrolmen near Grapevine, Texas.
- 1937 - Aden becomes a British crown colony.
- 1941 - The Blockade Runner Badge for German navy is instituted.
- 1945 - World War II: Operation Iceberg - United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.
- 1946 - Aleutian Island earthquake: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the Aleutian Islands creates a tsunami that strikes the Hawaiian Islands killing 159 (mostly in Hilo, Hawaii).
- 1946 - Formation of the Malayan Union.
- 1948 - Cold War: Berlin Airlift - Military forces, under direction of the Soviet-controlled government in East Germany, set-up a land blockade of West Berlin.
- 1948 - Faroe Islands receive autonomy from Denmark
- 1949 - Newfoundland becomes the tenth Province of Canada
- 1949 - Chinese Civil War: Communist Party of China hold unsuccessful peace talks with the Kuomintang in Beijing, after three years of fighting.
- 1949 - The twenty-six counties of the Irish Free State become the Republic of Ireland.
- 1954 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
- 1960 - The United States launches the first weather satellite, TIROS-1.
- 1967 - The United States Department of Transportation begins operation.
- 1969 - The Hawker Siddeley Harrier enters service with the RAF.
- 1970 - Phil Spector finishes the orchestral overdubs for the upcoming Beatles album, Let It Be, including the songs "Let It Be", "Across the Universe", and "The Long and Winding Road". This causes controversy among Beatles fans who feel that Phil Spector has overproduced the album.
- 1970 - President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law banning cigarette advertisements in the United States starting on January 1, 1971.
- 1970 - American Motors introduces the Gremlin.
- 1973 - Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Corbett National Park, India.
- 1974 - In the United Kingdom, new administrative counties come into being.
- 1976 - Apple Computer Company is formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
- 1976 - The Central Railroad of New Jersey goes bankrupt and Conrail takes over its operations.
- 1979 - Iran's government becomes an Islamic Republic by a 98% vote, overthrowing the Shah officially.
- 1996 - University of Kentucky team wins NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
- 1999 - Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved from the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.
- 2001 - An EP-3E United States Navy plane collides with a Chinese People's Liberation Army fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, People's Republic of China and is detained.
- 2001 - Former president of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes.
- 2001 - The first legal same-sex marriage in the Netherlands is celebrated.
- 2002 - The Netherlands legalizes euthanasia, becoming the only nation in the world to do so.
- 2004 - George W. Bush signs the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which makes an attack that leads to the death of a mother and her unborn child two criminal charges.
- 2004 - The first legal same-sex marriage in the Canadian province of Quebec: Michael Hendricks and René Leboeuf wed in Montreal. Montreal
- 2004 - Faroese Prime Minister's Office announces that from then on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office would use a new version of the Faroese Coat of Arms.
- 2004 - Gmail, an email service from Google launches.

Births


- 1220 - Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (d. 1272)
- 1543 - François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières, Constable of France (d. 1626)
- 1578 - William Harvey, English physician (d. 1657)
- 1610 - Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier (d. 1703)
- 1640 - Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician (d. 1697)
- 1647 - John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet (d. 1680)
- 1732 - Franz Josef Haydn, Austrian composer (d. 1809)
- 1765 - Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver (d. 1810)
- 1776 - Sophie Germain, French mathematician (d. 1831)
- 1815 - Otto von Bismarck, German politician (d. 1898)
- 1815 - Edward Clark, Governor of Texas (d. 1880)
- 1834 - Big Jim Fisk, American entrepreneur (d. 1872)
- 1854 - Bill Traylor, American artist (d. 1949)
- 1856 - Acacio Gabriel Viegas, Indian physician (d. 1933)
- 1865 - Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
- 1866 - Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1924)
- 1873 - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor (d. 1943)
- 1875 - Edgar Wallace, English writer (d. 1932)
- 1883 - Lon Chaney, Sr., American actor (d. 1930)
- 1885 - Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)
- 1895 - Alberta Hunter, American singer (d. 1984)
- 1897 - Nita Naldi, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1898 - William James Sidis, eccentric genius and child prodigy (d. 1944)
- 1899 - Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (d. 1968)
- 1900 - Robert McDowell, Mayor of Maryborough, Queensland (d. 1988)
- 1901 - Whittaker Chambers, American writer, editor, and defector (d. 1961)
- 1906 - Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Russian engineer and airplane designer (d. 1989)
- 1908 - Abraham Maslow, American psychologist (d. 1970)
- 1914 - Jerome L. Walton, Canadian author
- 1915 - Otto Wilhelm Fischer, Austrain actor (d. 2004)
- 1919 - Joseph Murray, American surgeon, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1920 - Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (d. 1997)
- 1922 - William Manchester, American writer (d. 2004)
- 1924 - Brendan Byrne, Governor of New Jersey
- 1926 - Charles Bressler, American tenor
- 1926 - Anne McCaffrey, American author
- 1928 - George Grizzard, American actor
- 1929 - Milan Kundera, Czech writer
- 1929 - Jane Powell, American dancer, actress, and singer
- 1929 - Bo Schembechler, American football coach
- 1930 - Grace Lee Whitney, American actress
- 1931 - Rolf Hochhuth, German writer
- 1932 - Gordon Jump, American television actor (d. 2003)
- 1932 - Debbie Reynolds, American actress
- 1933 - Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1934 - Don Hastings, American actor
- 1934 - Rod Kanehl, baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1935 - Larry McDonald, American politician (d. 1983)
- 1938 - Ali MacGraw, American actress
- 1938 - John Quade, American actor
- 1939 - Phil Niekro, American baseball pitcher
- 1940 - Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1942 - Samuel R. Delany, American author
- 1942 - Annie Nightingale, British disc jockey
- 1946 - Ronnie Lane, British musician (The Small Faces and The Faces) (d. 1997)
- 1947 - Alain Connes, French mathematician
- 1948 - Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican musician
- 1949 - Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman
- 1949 - Gil Scott-Heron, American musician and composer
- 1952 - Annette O'Toole, American actress
- 1953 - Barry Sonnenfeld, producer and director
- 1964 - Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1965 - Mark Jackson, American basketball player
- 1965 - Robert Steadman, English composer
- 1970 - Sung Hi Lee, Korean-born model
- 1971 - Method Man, American musician
- 1972 - Allen and Albert Hughes, American film directors
- 1973 - Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricketer
- 1975 - George Bastl, Swiss tennis player
- 1980 - Randy Orton, American professional wrestler
- 1980 - Takeuchi Yuko, Japanese actress
- 1981 - Hannah Spearritt, British singer (S Club 7)
- 1982 - Sam Huntington, American actor
- 1983 - Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, Icelandic footballer
- 1983 - Sean Taylor, American football player

Deaths


- 1085 - Emperor Shenzong of China (b. 1048)
- 1204 - Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of Henry II of England
- 1205 - King Amalric II of Jerusalem (b. 1145)
- 1528 - Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer
- 1580 - Alonso Mudarra, Spanish composer
- 1621 - Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (b. 1577)
- 1637 - Niwa Nagashige, Japanese warlord (b. 1571)
- 1682 - Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, Bishop of Strassburg (b. 1625)
- 1684 - Roger Williams, English theologian and colonist (b. 1603)
- 1787 - Floyer Sydenham, English classical scholar (b. 1710)
- 1839 - Benjamin Pierce, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1757)
- 1872 - Frederick Maurice, English theologian (b. 1805)
- 1878 - John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian politician (b. 1796)
- 1914 - Rube Waddell, baseball player (b. 1876)
- 1917 - Scott Joplin, American musician and composer (b. 1868)
- 1922 - Emperor Karl I of Austria (b. 1887)
- 1946 - Noah Beery, American actor (b. 1882)
- 1947 - King George II of Greece (b. 1890)
- 1950 - Charles R. Drew, American physician (b. 1904)
- 1966 - Flann O'Brien, Irish humorist (b. 1911)
- 1968 - Lev Davidovich Landau, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
- 1976 - Max Ernst, German artist (b. 1891)
- 1984 - Marvin Gaye, American singer (b. 1939)
- 1986 - Erik Bruhn, Danish ballet dancer, choreographer (b. 1928)
- 1988 - Joe Besser, American actor and comedian (b. 1907)
- 1991 - Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)
- 1994 - Léon Degrelle, Belgian Nazi (b. 1906)
- 1993 - Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (b. 1954)
- 1998 - Rozz Williams, American musician (Christian Death) (b. 1963)
- 1998 - Gene Evans, American actor (b. 1922)
- 2003 - Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong actor and singer (b. 1956)
- 2004 - Carrie Snodgress, American actress (b. 1946)
- 2005 - Harald Juhnke, German entertainer (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Jack Keller, songwriter (leukemia) (b. 1936)
- 2005 - Robert Coldwell Wood, American university president and political appointee (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances


- April 1 is known as April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day in many countries.
- Feast day of Saint Hugh in the Roman Catholic Church calendar
- Roman Empire - Veneralia celebrated to honor Venus
- Japan - The official start of school years in most universities and schools. Also, the official First Day of Work at companies and offices for new university graduates hires, marked by welcoming ceremonies and speeches.
- Canada - Beginning of government's fiscal year
- India - Start of financial year.
- Brielle celebrates victory of 1572 over Spaniards.
- In San Marino, two Captains Regent, elected by Parliament, take office for six months
- Date that bobhouses, used for ice-fishing, must be taken off frozen lakes in New Hampshire.
- International Day of the Birds

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050401.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- March 31 - April 2 - March 1 - May 1 -- listing of all days ko:4월 1일 ja:4月1日 simple:April 1 th:1 เมษายน

April 1

April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining.

Events


- 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
- 1318 - Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by the Scottish from the English
- 1572 - The Watergeuzen succeeded in capturing Den Briel, effectively sealing off the Meuse from the Spaniards.
- 1789 - In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first House Speaker.
- 1826 - Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine.
- 1854 - Hard Times begins serialisation in Charles Dickens magazine, Household Words.
- 1857 - Herman Melville publishes The Confidence-Man.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Five Forks - In Petersburg, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee begins his final offensive.
- 1867 - Singapore becomes British crown colony.
- 1868 - Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute is established in Hampton, Virginia
- 1873 - The British steamer SS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia killing 547.
- 1891 - The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- 1918 - The Royal Flying Corps is replaced by the Royal Air Force.
- 1924 - Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch." However, he spends only nine months in jail, during which he writes the book Mein Kampf.
- 1924 - First revenue flight for Belgium's Sabena Airlines
- 1933 - The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in the series of anti-Semitic acts that will be known as the Holocaust.
- 1934 - Bonnie and Clyde kill two young highway patrolmen near Grapevine, Texas.
- 1937 - Aden becomes a British crown colony.
- 1941 - The Blockade Runner Badge for German navy is instituted.
- 1945 - World War II: Operation Iceberg - United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.
- 1946 - Aleutian Island earthquake: A 7.8 magnitude earthquake near the