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Map of the Emirate of Granada

Muhammad IV (14 April 1315 – 25 August 1333) was the ruler of theEmirate of Granada(map pictured) on theIberian Peninsula from 1325 to 1333. He was the sixthsultan of theNasrid dynasty, succeeding to the throne at the age of 10 when his father,Ismail I, was assassinated. The initial years of his reign were marked by civil war between his ministers, drawing inCastile, Granada's neighbour to the north. The civil war ended in 1328 when Muhammad took a more active role in government. Castile and the kingdom ofAragon invaded Granada in 1330. In 1332, Muhammad sailed to theMarinid court atFez to request help, and the new Marinid sultanAbu al-Hasan Ali sent 5,000 troops, whobesieged the Castilians atGibraltar. The town surrendered in June 1333 butwas in turn besieged. After confused fighting a truce was agreed on 24 August 1333 that restored the 1331 treaty. One day later, Muhammad was assassinated, aged 18. He was succeeded by his brotherYusuf I. (Full article...)

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Haniwa horse from Kamichūjō

... that ahaniwa horse(pictured) inTokyo National Museum is of particular significance due to itshorse trappings?
... that more than half of all children in the United States under the age of 16 playedRoblox in July 2020?
... that thedetention of Mahmoud Khalil raises constitutional questions similar toa 1945 court case?
... thatAquilegia vulgaris subsp.nevadensis has remained genetically distinct from othercolumbines despite frequent hybridization within the genus?
... thata dam failure at a Chinese-ownedcopper mine released 50 million litres of highly toxic waste into theKafue River in Zambia, devastating ecosystems at least 100 kilometres (62 mi) downstream?
... thatnovvot, a popular traditional candy in the Middle East and Central Asia, is often served with tea and has roots in Persian cuisine?
... that Canadian football playerPaul Shorten playedcollege football after his pro career?
... thatBetsy Arakawa's house was once featured inArchitectural Digest?
... thatTwitch streamerMorgpie went viral for using her buttocks as agreen screen?

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Azzi Fudd

A nightclub roof collapse inSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic, kills 226 people.
Inbasketball, theUConn Huskieswin the NCAA Division I women's championship(Most Outstanding PlayerAzzi Fudd pictured) and theFlorida Gatorswin the men's championship.
In theNational Hockey League,Alexander Ovechkin breaksWayne Gretzky's record formost goals scored.
Inhorse racing,Nick Rockett, ridden byPatrick Mullins, winsthe Grand National.
South Korea'sConstitutional CourtremovesYoon Suk Yeol as thepresident of South Korea, followinghis earlier declaration of martial law.

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April 14:Tamil New Year andother New Year festivals in South and Southeast Asia (2024);N'Ko Alphabet Day in West Africa

Hailstones from the 1999 Sydney hailstorm

1471 –Wars of the Roses: TheYorkists underEdward IV defeated theLancastrians at theBattle of Barnet, killingRichard Neville, Earl of Warwick.
1945 –World War II: The German town ofFriesoythewas razed by the4th Canadian Division on the orders of Major GeneralChristopher Vokes.
1999 –A storm dropped around 500,000 tonnes ofhailstones on Sydney(examples pictured) and the east coast ofNew South Wales, causing aboutA$2.3 billion in damages, the costliestnatural disaster in Australian insurance history.
2010 – Plumes of ash froma major eruption of theEyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland led towidespread disruption of air travel throughout Europe for several days.
2014 –Boko Haram militantskidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a government secondary school in the town ofChibok, Nigeria.

Alexander Greenlaw Hamilton (b. 1852)
Robert Carlyle (b. 1961)
Rachel Carson (d. 1964)

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Toshihide Maskawa and Makoto Kobayashi

TheSakurai Prize, awarded by theAmerican Physical Society, honors "outstanding achievement inparticle theory" and is presented annually at the Society's April meeting. The award was established in November 1984 with an endowment fund provided by the family and friends of physicistJun John Sakurai, who died in October 1982. The prize consists of a US$10,000 cash award, an allowance for the recipient to travel to the ceremony, and a certificate citing their contributions. The Sakurai Prize is administered by the Society's Division of Particles and Fields, and winners are chosen by a selection committee. The prize may be shared by multiple people. The inaugural recipients,Toshihide Maskawa andMakoto Kobayashi(both pictured), were awarded the prize in 1985 for their work on theelectroweak interaction. The first woman to receive the Sakurai Prize wasMary K. Gaillard in 1993. (Full list...)

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Black Sunday was a severedust storm that occurred on April 14, 1935, as part of theDust Bowl, a period of severe dust storms in the Americanprairies in the 1930s. The storm first hit theOklahoma panhandle and northwesternOklahoma, then moved south intoTexas. The conditions were the most severe in the Oklahoma andTexas panhandles, but the storm's effects were also felt in surrounding areas. Drought, erosion, bare soil, and winds caused the dust to fly freely and at high speeds. It is estimated that 300,000 tons oftopsoil were displaced from the prairie area. Black Sunday was one of the worst dust storms in American history and caused immense economic and agricultural damage. This photograph shows the storm approachingStratford, Texas.

Photograph credit: George Everett Marsh Jr.; restored byYann Forget

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