Iranian Hostage Crisis April 7, 1980 The U.S. breaks off diplomatic relations and imposes an embargo on exports to Iran in retaliation for the 63 Americans hostages taken from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran the previous November. The embassy had been taken over by Iranian students who believed the U.S. was attempting to un...

April 6, 1862 The Battle of Shiloh during the Civil War begins. It was the bloodiest battle in U.S. history up to that time. During the two-day battle, 23,746 men were killed, wounded, captured, or missing. This is more than the American casualties of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War combined...

Unabomber Captured April 3, 1996 Ted Kaczynski is captured by the FBI. He was later convicted of killing three people and wounding 29 others by sending mail bombs over a period of almost eighteen years. Kaczynski was the target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) longest and costliest investigation. The FB...

Civil War - Declared Over (except Texas) April 2, 1866 U.S. President Andrew Johnson declares the war ended, except in Texas. Texas was not included because it had not yet formed a new state government to replace its Confederate-based government. This would happen later in the year. Although General Robert E. Lee had ...

World War II - Okinawa Invasion April 1, 1945 One of the bloodiest battles of the war. This 82-day-long battle began on Easter Sunday and April Fool's day of 1945 ending in an Allied victory. It was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific. The Japanese lost 77,000 soldiers, while the U.S. lost 14,000. It is estim...