Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, April 5.
In 1974, Stephen King’s first novel titled Carrie is unleashed onto the world. It tells the story of a high-school girl who possess telekinetic powers who decides to take revenge on her bullies following a disastrous prom night. King would go on to publish around 70 novels, 200 short stories, and help with the movie adaptations of his works including It, The Running Man, and The Green Mile.
In 1976, American billionaire eccentric Howard Hughes passes away of kidney failure on a flight to his penthouse in Houston, TX. Hughes dipped his toes in all industries ranging from aerospace to film producing. His Hughes Aircraft Company venture helped set multiple world records on air speed, including the H-1 Racer: an aircraft that zipped from Los Angeles to New York in 7-and-a-half hours at an average speed of 322 mph. This speed was initially thought to be impossible. He was also the owner of several casinos and hotels in Las Vegas; a city he frequented in his later years. His repeated brain injuries and diagnosis of neurosyphilis led to rapid health decline, which worsened when combined with his serious drug use. When he passed away, the media noted his frail body structure: a shocking factor that juxtaposed his glitzy image of a capitalist monarch.
In 1994, alternative rock icon Kurt Cobain is found dead in his Seattle, WA, home. His band Nirvana helped launch a Gen X pop-culture revolution as singles such as Smells Like Teen Spirit, Lithium, and In Bloom grace radio stations across the world. However, Cobain was vehemently against the idea of Nirvana becoming as big as it did, preferring to return the group to its grassroots. A frequent sufferer of depression, he began to take heavy drugs to cope with the anxiety of being a rock star. It’s believed that Cobain had killed himself while under the influence, but some speculate that his wife Courtney Love is connected in some way.