Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom, dies in London at age 87 from a stroke on April 8, 2013.

On April 8, 2009, the MV Maersk Alabama is hijacked off the coast of Somalia.

Even by Las Vegas standards it was controversial, a $1.2 billion recreation of the doomed Titanic, along with the iceberg that caused its destruction.

On April 8, 1993, the world mourned the loss of a remarkable talent as renowned African American contralto Marian Anderson passed away in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 96.

On April 8, 1993, the space shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center.

Arthur Ashe Announces AIDS Diagnosis: A Moment of Courage in 1992 In a poignant New York City news conference on April 7, 1992, tennis legend Arthur Ashe revealed to the world that he had been diagnosed with AIDS.

On April 8, 1990, David Lynch’s surreal television drama “Twin Peaks” premieres on ABC, launching the question “Who killed Laura Palmer?” into the cultural zeitgeist.

In a poignant moment that reverberated across the nation, Ryan White, the courageous teenager whose battle against AIDS forged a path for greater understanding and acceptance of the disease, succumbed to his illness on April 8, 1990, in Indianapolis at the tender age of 18.

On April 8, 1990, 18-year-old Ryan White dies of pneumonia, due to having contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion.

On April 8, 1989, California Angels rookie pitcher Jim Abbott, who was born without a right hand, makes his Major League Baseball debut in a 7-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners.