The following events occurred in April 1971:
April 1, 1971 (Thursday) The United Kingdom lifted all restrictions on gold ownership with the Exchange Control (Gold Coins Exemption) Order 1971. The postal code used in Canada was started with a test in Ottawa, with plans to introduce it in Manitoba in the autumn, Saskatchewan in the spring of 1972, and other provinces between 1972 and 1974."Postal code service for Canada to be inaugurated on April first", The Stanstead Journal (Rock Island QC), March 18, 1971, p.5. The day after U.S. Army Second Lieutenant William Calley was sentenced to life in prison in his court-martial for 22 murders, he was transferred from prison to house arrest by order of U.S. President Richard M. Nixon."President Orders Calley Released from Stockade", The New York Times, April 2, 1971, p1 An attempted coup d'état in Ecuador ended only hours after it started, without any violence. The night before, Army General Luis Jacome Chavez and about 50 Ecuadorian War Academy officers several disgruntled soldiers announced that they were commencing a revolt against President José Velasco Ibarra and his nephew, Defense Minister Jorge Acosta Velasco. Acosta's assistant announced on Thursday morning that Jacome had surrendered."General's Revolt Fails in Ecuador", The New York Times, April 2, 1971, p2 The city of Bizen was founded in the Okayama Prefecture of Japan. As of 2017, it had a population of almost 36,000 people. Born: Danielle Smith, Canadian politician, Premier of Alberta, in Calgary Jessica Collins, American TV actress, as Jennifer Lynn Campogna in Schenectady, New York
April 2, 1971 (Friday) The Tripoli Agreement was signed in the Libyan city of Tripoli by representatives of oil companies from around the world and by oil ministers of OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), providing for higher prices to be paid to OPEC nations for petroleum until 1976."5-Year Oil Accord Signed with Libya", The New York Times, April 3, 1971, p1 The cult classic U.S. TV soap opera Dark Shadows broadcast its 1,226th and final episode. Born: Todd Woodbridge, Australian professional tennis player and half of the Grand Slam doubles winning team of Woodbridge and Woodforde (11 titles), and Woodbridge and Bjorkman (5 titles); in Sydney
April 3, 1971 (Saturday) Tajuddin Ahmad, the General Secretary of the Awami League and a leader of the independence movement for the Bengali population of East Pakistan, met with India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to seek Indian aid in the fight for Bangladesh's liberation from Pakistan.Moyeedul Hasan, Muldhara 1971 (University Press Limited, 2004) pp. 11–14 Un banc, un arbre, une rue, sung by Séverine (music by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, lyrics by Yves Dessca), won the Eurovision Song Contest 1971 for Monaco. Born: Picabo Street, American skier and celebrity, 1998 Olympic gold medalist; in Triumph, Idaho Died: Jacques Ochs, 88, Belgian artist and Olympic fencing champion Joe Valachi, 66, American gangster who became a government witness who testified in detail before Congress about the inner workings of the American Mafia, died of a heart attack while serving a prison sentence.
April 4, 1971 (Sunday) Kosmos 404 was launched by the USSR as an ASAT test. Its target was Kosmos 400, which it intercepted and destroyed. The Mukti Bahini, a guerrilla force of East Pakistanis and the predecessor of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, was organized under the command of General M. A. G. Osmani, a retired Pakistan Army officer, from units of Pakistan's East Bengal Regiment and the East Pakistan Rifles, joined by civilians who volunteered to serve in the "People's Army" the Gonobahini. Died: Carl Mays, 79, American baseball player who infamously beaned Ray Chapman with a pitched ball in 1920, resulting in his death the following day. Victor Odlum, 90, Canadian journalist, soldier, and diplomat
April 5, 1971 (Monday) In Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the Marxist–Leninist group Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front) began a rebellion against the government of Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, starting with plans for a simultaneous surprise attack on police stations nationwide at 11:00 at night and a plot to kidnap Bandaranaike from her residence. Because of a failure to attend a planning meeting on April 2, and a misunderstanding of a specific time for the uprising to start, a unit assigned to assault the police station at Wellawaya launched its attack on the morning of April 5 and ruined the JVP's plan to catch the rest of Ceylon's police off guard."Crushing the revolt", by Kumudini Hettiarachchi and Renuka Sadanandan, The Sunday Times (Colombo, Sri Lanka), April 8, 2001 Frances Phipps became the first woman to travel to the North Pole as she and her husband Welland Phipps, co-owners of the Atlas Aviation charter service, flew a Twin Otter ski plane to install a radar beacon at the Pole. A major eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily began. In the course of the eruption, lava buried the Etna Observatory (built in the late 19th century), destroyed the first generation of the Etna cable-car, and seriously threatened several small villages on Etna's east flank. The Marxist government of Chile and the Communist government of East Germany established diplomatic relations. Yu Song-gun, a diplomat of South Korea's Embassy in West Germany, was kidnapped by North Korean agents while he and his wife were visiting West Berlin. Robert M. Blais was sworn into office as the mayor of tiny Lake George Village, New York, and would celebrate half a century in office in 2021."Blais celebrates 50 years as Lake George mayor", by Chad Arnold, Adirondack Daily Enterprise (Saranac Lake NY), April 7, 2021 Blais retired in 2023 after more than 52 years in office."Robert M. Blais, Class of 1956, 1958", in Bostonia (Boston University Alumni Association, 2022)
April 6, 1971 (Tuesday) "Ping-pong diplomacy" began when the People's Republic of China sent an invitation to the U.S. national table tennis team to visit as the first Americans to be invited to mainland China since the Communist government had taken over in 1949. For more than 20 years, mainland China had been closed to the U.S. and other Western nations."U.S. Table Tennis Team Gets Peking Invitation", The New York Times, April 7, 1971, p5 The American team was in Nagoya, Japan for the world championships at the same time that the People's Republic was participating in the competition for the first time since 1965. Earlier, Glenn Cowan of the U.S. team was befriended by three-time men's world champion Zhuang Zedong of China and the press coverage led to the invitation. Rufford Harrison, the captain of the U.S. team accepted the invitation on behalf of the team the next day."U.S. Table Tennis Team To Visit China for Week— 15 Invited by Peking", The New York Times, April 8, 1971, p1 West Germany's Chancellor, Willy Brandt, wrote to French President Georges Pompidou to reiterate his determination to re-open negotiations for the United Kingdom to join the European Community. Born: Lou Merloni, American baseball player and radio personality, in Framingham, Massachusetts Died: Igor Stravinsky, 88, Russian composer, conductor and pianist
April 7, 1971 (Wednesday) Two Croatian nationalists invaded the Yugoslavian Embassy in Stockholm and took Ambassador to Sweden Vladimir Rolović hostage, then tortured him and shot him.Lars Weiss, I saknadens tid (Bonner, 2013) Stockholm police stormed the building after being called to the scene and arrested the two men, Miro Barešić and Anđelko Brajković, at the scene. Rolović died eight days later. Barešić and Brajković would be released 17 months later after the hijacking of SAS Flight 130. U.S. President Richard M. Nixon announced in a nationally televised speech that he had scheduled the withdrawal of 100,000 additional U.S. troops from South Vietnam by December 1, with 14,300 to return home each month."Nixon Promises Vietnam Pullout of 100,000 More G.I.s by December; Pledges to End U.S. Role in War", by Max Frankel, The New York Times, April 8, 1971, p1 At the time, there were 284,000 U.S. troops still participating in the Vietnam War."Nixon Earlier Ordered Withdrawal of 260,000", The New York Times, April 8, 1971, p6 Archbishop Meliktu Jenbere was elected as the second Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, succeeding the late Abuna Basilios, who had died on October 13. He was enthroned as Patriarch Abuna Theophilos on May 9 and would reign until 1979. For the last time in Major League Baseball history, the Opening Day was a doubleheader. With the Oakland A's hosting the visiting Chicago White Sox, winning 6 to 5 and 12 to 4. Born: Guillaume Depardieu (d. 2008), French actor, son of Gérard Depardieu and Élisabeth Depardieu, in Paris
April 8, 1971 (Thursday) The first legalized off-track betting system in the United States began operating in the state of New York at a terminal in Grand Central Station in New York City, for betting on horse races at Roosevelt Raceway."Offtrack Bet Shops Swamped on First Day", by Steve Cady, The New York Times, April 9, 1971, p1 A bomb exploded in a Saigon club where the CBC band was performing, killing a GI and a female civilian, the drummer's girlfriend. The "Hughes 500-P", a modified Hughes OH-6 Cayuse chopper billed as "the quietest helicopter ever", because of its noise dampening technology and black paint that absorbed radar waves, was given its first public demonstration. The championship game of the Europe's FIBA European Champions Cup was held in Antwerp in Belgium. The league champions of 24 nations participated, and in the final, the Soviet Army team, CSKA Moscow, defeated Italy's Ignis Varese, 67 to 53.
April 9, 1971 (Friday) The Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was enlarged from 11 members to 15 as the Central Committee voted to approve the promotion of four men to full Politburo status. Dinmukhamed A. Kunayev, Vladimir V. Scherbitsky and Viktor V. Grishin were promoted from candidate members to full members, and the CPSU's secretary in charge of agriculture Fyodor D. Kulakov was added to the group that held the de facto power in the U.S.S.R., while the original 11 were elected to new terms."Soviet Shuffles Party Leadership But Team Is Same", The New York Times, April 10, 1971, p1 Party General Secretary Leonid I. Brezhnev was re-elected as the CPSU General Secretary."Brezhnev Officially Listed Ahead of Soviet Politburo", by Bernard Gwertzman, The New York Times, April 11, 1971, p1 Troops of the Pakistan Army invaded the home of Zakir Husain, a native Bengali and a former Governor of East Pakistan, killing most of his staff. Husain himself and his eldest son were almost executed on the scene until the unit's commanding officer realized what was happening and stopped the act. Born: Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian racing driver, 1995 CART World Series champ, 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1997 Formula One world champion; in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
April 10, 1971 (Saturday) Sixteen members of the U.S. national table tennis team became the first contingent of Americans in more than 20 years to be welcomed to the People's Republic of China as nine players, four team officials and two wives walked across a bridge from British Hong Kong at the invitation of the Chinese government for an eight-day visit described as ping-pong diplomacy."15-Man U.S. Table Tennis Team Crosses Into China From Hong Kong", The New York Times, April 10, 1971, p1 The team and accompanying reporters were flown from Guangzhou to Tokyo seven days later after their historic visit."U.S. Team Is Returning Home With Mixed Impressions of China", The New York Times, April 18, 1971, p3 A provisional Bangladeshi government took its oath of office in Meherpur Kushtia."Bengalis Form a Cabinet As the Bloodshed Goes On", The New York Times, April 14, 1971, p1