Gday...

1551  -     The last outbreak of the deadly 'sweating sickness' occurs in England.

The 'sweating sickness' was a disease first seen in August 1485 among Henry VII's followers at the Battle of Bosworth Field, although there was evidence of it prior to the battle. The disease was characterised by violent inflammation, as seen in acute stomach cramps, headache, muscle pain, lethargy and extensive foul-smelling perspiration. Survival rates for those who contracted the disease were one percent. It was not the same as the plague, as the symptom of foul perspiration was unique, and it inevitably showed a rapid and fatal course. The disease recurred in London in 1506, 1517 and 1528. The final epidemic broke out in England on 16 April 1551.

1889  -     Actor, writer, director, producer, composer and choreographer, Charlie Chaplin, is born. 

1920  -     The South Australian city of Hummock's Hill is proclaimed Whyalla. 

2007  -     32 people are killed in America's worst campus shooting.

On 16 April 2007, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, became the scene of the country's worst mass shooting up to that date.

South Korean student, Cho Seung-Hui, who immigrated with his family to the USA when he was eight years old and grew up in Northern Virginia, had permanent residence status. He was a fourth-year English major at Virginia Tech. Cho had a history of writing morbid and gruesome stories in his English class, and had even been encouraged to seek counselling.

Cho's first victims were killed at around 7:15 am EDT in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a co-ed dormitory that housed nearly 900 students. He then mailed a package, postmarked 9:01 am, to NBC News containing various writings and recordings. Around two hours later, he walked over to Norris Hall, containing the Engineering Science and Mechanics program, and chained the main entrance doors shut. He then entered several classrooms and began shooting students and faculty members. His second attack killed 30 student and faculty victims in at least four classrooms and a second-floor hallway of the building.

Cho was later found dead, having committed suicide as the police cornered him. Whilst Cho railed against the "rich kids, debauchery and deceitful charlatans" in a note he left behind, the motive for his attack remains unclear.

2010  -     A pulsating column of smoke and ash from the erupting Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland reaches an altitude of 8 km.

Cheers - John