1773
First beer brewed in New Zealand
In an attempt to concoct a preventative against scurvy, Captain James Cook brewed a batch of beer on Resolution Island in Dusky Sound, using rimu branches and leaves.



1965
TEAL becomes Air New Zealand
New Zealand’s international airline, Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), was renamed Air New Zealand Limited.



1974
ACC comes into operation
In 1972 legislation established the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) to provide insurance for all personal injury.


1978
Thermal insulation required in NZ homes
Early European-style timber frame construction was not as effective as traditional Māori methods at keeping the heat in buildings. Specified levels of thermal insulation were not required by law until 1978.


1981
New Zealand Film Archive launched
The New Zealand Film Archive has grown considerably since it shared Wellington premises with the New Zealand Federation of Film Societies.


1987
State-owned enterprises are born
The State-owned Enterprises Act heralded a major overhaul of the public sector and was a key part of the strategy of economic liberalisation known as 'Rogernomics'.


1992
New Zealand Cartoon Archive launched
The New Zealand Cartoon Archive (now the New Zealand Cartoon and Comics Archive) was launched at a function at the National Library in Wellington by Prime Minister Jim Bolger.



In Music History

2020-Dolly Parton makes a $1 million donation to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center to help fund research for a coronavirus vaccine.

2020-Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne dies at 52 after contracting coronavirus. He's one of the first popular entertainers to die from the virus, which a week later claims the life of John Prine.

2017 – Bob Dylan received his Nobel Prize for Literature at a private ceremony in Stockholm, recognizing his songwriting as a literary achievement.

2016-Guns N' Roses announce that original members Slash and Duff McKagan are returning to the group to join Axl Rose on the Not In This Lifetime stadium tour of North America. VIP packages (the "Welcome to the Jungle Pit Experience") go for $2,500, which gets you a backstage tour and access to the Paradise City Lounge, but no interaction with the band.

2016-Actor-turned-singer Kiefer Sutherland releases his debut single, "Not Enough Whiskey."

2015-Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon's first wife, dies of cancer at age 75 in Mallorca, Spain.

2012 – 47th Academy of Country Music Awards honored artists including Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, and Miranda Lambert.

YouTube Rickrolls Users
2008
On April Fools' Day, YouTube tricks users with the popular bait-and-switch prank called Rickrolling by featuring video links that actually lead to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" music video. Several other websites have the same idea, creating an unintentional, internet-wide April Fools' joke.

2008-Scott Weiland officially departs Velvet Revolver, effectively ending the band.

2008-The Rolling Stones release Shine A Light, the soundtrack to their concert film of the same name, directed by Martin Scorsese.

2007-The Hammersmith Palais in London, subject of The Clash song "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais," hosts its last concert - a gig by The Fall.

2007-Proving she understands irony just fine, Alanis Morissette transforms the Black Eyed Peas' booty anthem "My Humps" into a mournful piano ballad for April Fools' Day. The accompanying music video debuts on YouTube and becomes a viral sensation, garnering millions of views.More

2006-Spin magazine publishes a review of the Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy, which Axl Rose and his gang have been working on since 1994. It's an April Fool: the album isn't released until 2008.

2005-Jack Keller dies of leukemia at age 68 in Nashville, Tennessee. The songwriter is known for his pop collaborations with Howard Greenfield, including "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" and "Run To Him." He was also a writer and producer for The Monkees TV series.

2004-Guitarist Paul Atkinson (of The Zombies) dies at age 58 from liver and kidney disease, while also suffering from cancer.

2002 – Luther Vandross released the compilation album Stop to Love, highlighting his contributions to R&B.

1999-"Shake, Rattle And Roll" composer Jesse Stone, aka Charles Calhoun, dies at age 97 in Alamonte Springs, Florida.

1996-After blowing through more than $30 million, MC Hammer files for bankruptcy protection.

1995-Tupac Shakur is in jail (serving time for sexual abuse), but his third album, Me Against the World, hits #1, where it stays for four weeks.

1992-Nigel Preston, drummer and founding member of The Cult, dies of a heroin overdose at age 28.

1992-MC Hammer's 2 Legit 2 Quit tour begins in Hampton, Virginia. By the end of the tour, two of his support acts have become more popular than he is: Boyz II Men and TLC.

1992-Jimmy Buffett and his wife Jane welcome their second daughter, Sarah Delaney.

1992-Billy Idol pleads no contest to charges of misdemeanor assault and battery and is fined $2,000. The incident happened in October 1991, when Idol ended up in a car with two women and allegedly punched one of them. Alcohol was involved.

1991-At his Wembley Arena concert in London, Rod Stewart calls for his wife Rachel Hunter to join him on stage for "You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)," but she instead sends out his buddy Elton John, dressed in women's clothes and makeup, to prank her husband. Stewart gamely plays along and sings to Elton.

1991-At his Wembley Arena concert in London, Rod Stewart calls for his wife Rachel Hunter to join him on stage for "You're In My Heart (The Final Acclaim)," but she instead sends out his buddy Elton John, dressed in women's clothes and makeup, to prank her husband. Stewart gamely plays along and sings to Elton.

1989-Living Colour make a splash as the musical guests on Saturday Night Live, performing "Cult of Personality" and "Open Letter (To a Landlord)."

Bangles Hit #1 With "Eternal Flame," Break Up Six Months Later
1989-Bangles hit #1 in America with "Eternal Flame," but break up less than six months later.More

1989-N.W.A.'s "Gangsta Gangsta" becomes the group's first song to enter the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it debuts at #91.

1986-Hillary Scott of Lady A is born in Nashville. Her mother is the singer Linda Davis.

1986-Bruce Hornsby and the Range release The Way It Is, an album that produces four hits (including the title track) and is certified multi-platinum.

1985 – David Lee Roth left Van Halen to pursue a solo career, a major shift in the rock landscape.

1985-It's no joke: David Lee Roth officially leaves Van Halen to start a solo career.

1984-Marvin Gaye is fatally shot by his own father and dies at age 44. An investigation reveals that Marvin had beaten his father, who ends up serving five years' probation for voluntary manslaughter.

1984 – Marvin Gaye, the legendary soul singer, was tragically shot and killed by his father one day before his 45th birthday. Gaye was celebrated for hits like “Sexual Healing” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine”.

1983-The second Men at Work album, Cargo, is released in America. The group's debut was released there less than a year earlier and is still getting airplay, leading to Men at Work saturation. Sudden success takes its toll on the group, which breaks up a few years later.

1983-Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett gets a phone call from manager Mark Whitaker, asking him to audition for Metallica. Hammett accepts, and several days later, is on a plane to New York for his tryout.

1978-The Philadelphia Fury soccer team (owned by Paul Simon, Peter Frampton, James Taylor and others) makes its debut (it lasts three seasons).

1976-Rush disregard their record label's wishes and release 2112. Mercury wanted the band to produce an album with more radio-friendly singles than Caress of Steel, but 2112 is just as ambitious and "progressive" as its predecessor. This time, however, advances in the band's skills and changes in the market make 2112 successful, though it will take 1977's A Farewell to Kings to help nudge 2112 to Gold status.

1975-Journey release their self-titled debut album, a mix of progressive rock and jazz with little emphasis on the vocals. It finds just a niche audience, as do their next two albums, but after adding lead singer Steve Perry to the band in 1977 they switch to a pop sound and become consistent hitmakers.

1974-Tom Petty and his band Mudcrutch leave Gainesville for Los Angeles, and never look back. They soon become Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

1971 – Jimi Hendrix’s posthumous album The Cry of Love was certified Gold, six months after his death, by the RIAA, cementing his enduring influence on rock music.

1970-The Joni Mitchell album Ladies Of The Canyon, with the songs "Big Yellow Taxi" and "The Circle Game," is released.

1969-After playing on hits for the likes of Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, four session musicians start Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, where they record The Staple Singers, Paul Simon, Rod Stewart and The Rolling Stones.

Traffic Find Strange (And Possibly Supernatural) Inspiration For Their Debut Album
1967-A former champion horse jockey named Sir William Pigott-Brown rents one of his properties - a 19th century farm in the countryside outside London - to Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, who has his recently signed band Traffic record their debut album there.

1966 – The Troggs recorded “Wild Thing” at Olympic Sound Studio in London, which later became a global hit, topping charts in the UK, US, Australia, and New Zealand.

1966 – David Bowie released his first solo single, “Do Anything You Say”, marking his debut under the stage name David Bowie, though the single failed to chart.

1961-Rock and roll singer Troy Shondell releases his sole hit, "This Time."

1961-The Beatles begin a grueling gig at Hamburg's Top Ten Club - seven hours a day on weekdays (eight hours on weekends) for three months.

1961-Mark White, guitarist and keyboardist for the English new wave group ABC, is born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.

1959-Freddy Cannon releases "Tallahassee Lassie," which becomes his first hit. The song is later covered by The Rolling Stones.

1956-Elvis Presley gets his film career going with a screen test at Paramount Studios, where he performs a scene from The Rainmaker. He lands a contract and ends up starring in 31 movies.

1954-Rock drummer Jeff Porcaro (of Toto) is born in South Windsor, Connecticut.

1948-Reggae musician Jimmy Cliff ("The Harder They Come," "Hakuna Matata") is born James Chambers in Somerton District, St. James, Jamaica.

1946-Bass guitarist Ronnie Lane (Small Faces and Faces) is born in Plaistow, London, England.

1945-Rock drummer John Barbata (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship) is born in Passaic, New Jersey.

1944-Pop singer Frank Gari ("Utopia," "Lullaby of Love") is born Frank Daniel Garofalo in New York City.

1942-Phil Margo is born in Brooklyn, New York. He and brother Mitch will form The Tokens and release the #1 hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."

1942-Pop guitarist Alan Blakley (The Tremeloes) is born in Bromley, Kent, England.

1939-Rudolph Isley (of The Isley Brothers) is born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

1934-Country singer-songwriter Jim Ed Brown (The Browns) is born in Sparkman, Arkansas. Aside from forming The Browns with his two sisters, he'll find fame as a solo artist and frequent duet partner of Helen Cornelius ("I Don't Want To Have To Marry You").

1932-Singin' in the Rain star Debbie Reynolds is born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas.

1917-Ragtime composer Scott Joplin dies of syphilitic dementia at age 49 in New York City.