On April 17, 1961, just after midnight, a force of CIA financed and trained Cuban exiles landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro. The Cuban armed forces quickly defeated the invading combatants. Several hundred to several thousand people were estimated to have been killed, wounded or missing in the fighting, and more than 1,200 Cuban exiles were captured by Castro. In August, Che Guevara sent a note to President Kennedy, reading, “Thanks for Playa Girón. Before the invasion, the revolution was weak. Now it’s stronger than ever.” Finally, days before Christmas 1962, Castro signed an agreement to exchange 1,113 prisoners with the U.S. for $53 million in food and medicine.
On April 17, 1970, Apollo 13 returned safely back to Earth.
On April 17, 1975, Cambodian government forces surrender to the Khmer Rouge, who capture Phnom Penh, the capital. In the next five years, more than 1 in every 5 Cambodians died of starvation, was worked to death or was executed.
On April 17, 1986, the Three Hundred and Thirty Five Years’ War between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly ended. Peace at last!