On this day

April 5, 1991

Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from April 5, 1991

New Jobless Claims at 8-Year High

By Louis Uchitelle

The number of Americans applying for unemployment insurance jumped in late March to 543,000, the highest level since January 1983, the Labor Department said yesterday. The report suggested that the economy was still mired in recession. After the figures were released, interest rates on Treasury securities fell, as they often do on publication of statistics that indicate weakness in the economy. The data also suggested that the unemployment rate for March, to be announced by the Labor Department today, will show a rise from February's 6.5 percent level.

Financial Desk550 words

Safety Note

By Unknown Author

The New York City Fire Department recommends that smoke alarm batteries be changed twice yearly, at the start and the end of daylight time. The date this spring is Sunday.

Metropolitan Desk30 words

Gene Finding Reveals a Secret of Smell

By Natalie Angier

Humans and other mammals detect an exquisitely complex bouquet of smells by using at least a thousand different genes that are active exclusively in nose cells, scientists have found. The discovery of the huge family of smell genes offers scientists their first insight into the fundamental mechanism of smell.

National Desk881 words

Traffic Alert

By Unknown Author

Alternate-side parking regulations will be suspended today for Orthodox Good Friday and the seventh day of Passover, and tomorrow for the eighth day of Passover.

Metropolitan Desk25 words

A Garden Idyll, Before Spring Gets Too Pushy

By Laura Cunningham

"SPRING scares me," confides a friend. "Everything pulsating. All the longer daylight means to me is that I have to lower the window shades earlier to watch TV." Many urban souls thrive on winter depression, enjoying the flu as an excuse to cuddle under covers, popping cough drops and videocassettes. One recent afternoon, several city friends refused to accompany me to the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, saying they didn't care to "see everything in bloom, looking, you know, so hyper-real and computer-enhanced." I understand. Spring can be pushy. I myself prefer a moody day, wind-whipped and gray, to visit the garden, before the true, manic spring begins, with the overloud bird chirping and all the rest. So I rushed up before most of the buds could open and too much pollination was under way. There were spores in the air, to be sure, but germination was discreet and I had the muted experience I craved, and more.

Weekend Desk2895 words

Music on My Birthday

Billboard 200

The Top 50 albums for the chart week of April 3, 1991, covering April 5, 1991.

1
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Last week
1
Peak
1
Weeks
41
2
Gonna Make You Sweat
C+C Music Factory
Last week
2
Peak
2
Weeks
13
3
Wilson Phillips
Wilson Phillips
Last week
4
Peak
2
Weeks
52
4
Shake Your Money Maker
The Black Crowes
Last week
5
Peak
4
Weeks
55
5
The Soul Cages
Sting
Last week
3
Peak
2
Weeks
9

Notable Births

1991Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer^[†]

Yassine Bounou, also known as Bono, is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Morocco national team.

1991Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer^[†]

Nathaniel Edwin Clyne is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back or right wing-back and occasionally centre-back for Premier League club Crystal Palace.

1991Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer^[†]

Adriano Grimaldi is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for SC Paderborn.

1991Joël Mall, Swiss footballer^[†]

Joël Yves Mall is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Swiss Super League side Servette. Born in Switzerland, he plays for the Cyprus national team after gaining citizenship in 2023.

1991Guilherme dos Santos Torres, Brazilian footballer^[†]

Guilherme dos Santos Torres, commonly known as Guilherme, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder of Qatar Stars League football club Al Sadd.

Notable Deaths

1991Sonny Carter, American soccer player, physician, and astronaut (born 1947)^[†]

Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr., M.D., , was an American physician, professional soccer player, naval officer, aviator, and NASA astronaut who flew on STS-33.

1991Jay Miller, American basketball player (born 1943)^[†]

Jay Julian Miller was an American forward in the National Basketball Association. Miller first played for the St. Louis Hawks before being selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1968 NBA expansion draft. After his time with the Bucks, he spent the rest of his career in the American Basketball Association.

1991Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist, writer and screenwriter (born 1915)^[†]

Jiří Mucha was a Czech journalist, writer, screenwriter, author of autobiographical novels and studies of the works of his father, the painter Alphonse Mucha.

1991William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle (born 1909)^[†]

William Philip Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle, known as Lord De L'Isle and Dudley between 1945 and 1956, was a British Army officer, politician and Victoria Cross recipient who served as the 15th governor-general of Australia, in office from 1961 to 1965. He was the last non-Australian to hold the position.

1991John Tower, American soldier, academic, and politician (born 1925)^[†]

John Goodwin Tower was an American politician and military veteran who represented Texas in the United States Senate from 1961 to 1985. He was the first Republican elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Reconstruction. Tower is known for leading the Tower Commission, which investigated the Iran-Contra Affair in the Reagan administration.

Historical Events

1991An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.^[†]

Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) was a regional airline in the United States based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier on behalf of Delta Air Lines via a code sharing agreement and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier on behalf of United Airlines via a separate code sharing agreement. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operated nearly 900 flights each day. Its main hub was located at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) which is also a hub for Delta. After a 2010 merger with ExpressJet, ASA adopted the ExpressJet name and branding in 2011.

1991The Space shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-37 to deploy the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory.^[†]

Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.

Historical Context for April 5, 1991

In 1991, the world population was approximately 5,418,735,891 people^[†]

Headlines from April 5, 1991

New Jobless Claims at 8-Year High

Safety Note

Gene Finding Reveals a Secret of Smell

Traffic Alert

A Garden Idyll, Before Spring Gets Too Pushy

Mariah Carey

Gonna Make You Sweat

Wilson Phillips

Shake Your Money Maker

The Soul Cages

Notable Births

Notable Deaths

Historical Events

Historical Context for April 5, 1991