Important Events From This day in History – 5 April

Today in History

• 1998 The world’s largest suspension bridge opens to traffic

  Japan’s Akashi Kaiky Bridge has the world’s longest central span, measuring 1991 meters (6532 feet).

• 1986 A bomb kills 3 people at the La Belle in West Berlin

  The nightclub attack, which was frequented by US soldiers, was later blamed on the Libyan secret service. At least 15 people were killed in Libya as a result of retaliatory strikes.

• 1955 Winston Churchill resigns as U.K. Prime Minister

  Churchill was instrumental in launching the alliance of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany. His political career lasted a half-century.

• 1951 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death

  The American couple was accused of passing nuclear weapon information to the Soviet Union. Ethel was later discovered to be uninvolved in her husband’s activities. Both were hanged in 1953.

• 1895 Oscar Wilde loses his criminal libel case triggered by accusations of homosexuality

  The Marquess of Queensbury had left his business card at the Albemarle Club, along with the inscription, “For Oscar Wilde posing Somdomite”.