Here are some of the important events that occurred on April 28
American professional boxer Muhammad Ali refuses induction in the US Army
Muhammad Ali’s refusal to participate with the US Army in Vietnam in 1967 led to a draft-evasion conviction – a $10,000 fine, a three-year boxing ban and a five-year imprisonment. He appealed against the sentence and a decision by the US Supreme Court in 1971 (Clay v United States) overturned his conviction in a unanimous ruling.
“War is against the teachings of the Quran. I’m not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don’t take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers. Man, I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?” he said.
Considered one of the greatest boxers of all time and a cultural icon, Muhammad Ali was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 – the highest civilian award in the US.
He died on 3 June, 2016.
The Soviet Union publicly announces the Chernobyl Accident
Two days after the 26-April accident, the Soviet Union acknowledges the disaster at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The accident occurred during a late-night safety experiment for which the safety systems were also turned off. However, design problems in the reactor and miscalculations by engineers led to an explosion and fires that spread radioactive waste. Two people died immediately after the incident but ultimately hundred’s would die due to radiation poisoning. The nearby town of Pripyat, now in Ukraine, was immediately evacuated after local residents reported headaches, vomiting and a metallic taste in their mouths. High radiation levels were detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden, at which point Russia finally acknowledged that the accident had occurred. Over $18 billion were spent at the time on decontamination efforts. The city of Pripyat is still vacant and Ukrainian government officials believe it will not be inhabitable for another 20,000 years.
Saddam Hussein is born in 1937
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was born to a family of Shephards in 1937. His father left before he was born and he received cruel treatment from his step-father, forcing him to flee and live with his uncle in Baghdad. Highly active in youth politics, Saddam came to power in 1979 and ordered the execution of those he deemed disloyal to the Ba’ath party. He sought to create a cult of personality around himself and plastered his images and statues across Iraqi cities. He projected himself as an Arab leader against what he saw and encroaching Jews and Persians, which culminated in a war with Iran that lasted between 1980- 1988 and killed hundreds of thousands. Regarded as a genocide, Al-Anfal Campaign was also launched against the Kurdish minority in the 1980’s that killed between 50,000-100,000 people. The invasion of Kuwait in 1990 invited a US-led response that stopped short of invading Iraq itself. However, crippling UN sanctions against Iraq continued in the 1990’s leading to mass starvation. Ultimately, he was deposed from power after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and arrested later in the same year. He was hanged on Eid-ul-Adha in 2006 despite his request to be shot dead.
Nixon authorises US troops to target communist sanctuaries in Cambodia
US President Richard Nixon authorises US troops to target communists using Cambodian territory as a ‘safe-haven’ to launch attacks against US troops in Vietnam.
Conrad of Montferrat is assassinated by the Hashashins
Conrad of Montferrat, an Italian nobleman, the de-facto King of Jerusalem and an important leader during the Third Crusade was assassinated by the Hashashins on April 28, 1192. The term Hasashin eventually evolved into a widely used term in reference to hired killers – Assassins.
Would you like to know what happened on 27 April?
Stay in touch for our post for 29 April !