Today In The Past
Events
858 – Benedict III ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1397 – Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II. Chaucer scholars have also identified this date (in 1387) as when the book’s pilgrimage to Canterbury starts.
1492 – Christopher Columbus signs contract with Spain to find Indies
1524 – Giovanni Verrazano, Florentine navigator, discovers New York Harbor
1534 – Sir Thomas More confined in London Tower
1555 – Siena surrenders for Spanish troops
1629 – 1st commercial fishery established
1793 – Battle of Warsaw
1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico in what would be one of the largest invasions to Spanish territories in America.
1808 – Bayonne Decree by Napoleon I of France orders seizure of US ships
1817 – 1st US school for deaf (Hartford, Conn)
1824 – Russia abandons all North American claims south of 54° 40’N
1853 – US Marine Hospital at Presidio (SF) forms
1861 – Indianola TX – “Star of West” taken by Confederacy
1861 – Virginia is 8th state to secede
1863 – Grierson’s Raid : La Grange, TN to Baton Rouge, LA
1864 – Battle of Plymouth, NC
1864 – Bread revolt in Savannah, Georgia
1864 – Grant suspends prisoner-of-war exchanges
1865 – Mary Surratt is arrested as a conspirator in Lincoln’s assassination
1875 – “Snooker” (variation of pool) invented by Sir Neville Chamberlain
1895 – Treaty of Shimonoseki signed, ends 1st Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)
1900 – 7 high chiefs of American Samoa sign Instrument of Cession
1905 – US Supreme court judges maximum work day unconstitutional
1905 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York which held that the “right to free contract” was implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
1907 – Ellis Island, NY-11,745 immigrants arrive
1912 – 1st unofficial gold record (Al Jolson’s “Ragging The Baby To Sleep”)
1920 – American Professional Football Association forms (NFL)
1924 – Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures & Louis B Mayer Co merged to form MGM
1932 – Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia ends slavery
1934 – New Fenway Park opens, Washington Senators beat Red Sox 6-5
1937 – Cartoon characters Daffy Duck, Elmer J Fudd & Petunia Pig, debut
1939 – Joe Louis KOs Jack Roper in 1 for heavyweight boxing title
1941 – British troop land in Iraq/Yugoslavia; surrender to nazis
1941 – Office of Price Administration forms (handled rationing)
1941 – World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.
1942 – 12 Lancaster bombers strike MAN-factory in Augsburg
1942 – Operations begin to destroy Sobibor Concentration Camp
1942 – POW French General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Festung Königstein.
1943 – Admiral Yamamoto flies from Truk to Rabaul
1945 – 8th Air Force bombs Dresden
1945 – Benito Mussolini flees from Salò to Milan
1945 – US troops lands in Mindanao
1947 – Jackie Robinson bunts for his 1st major league hit
1951 – NY Yankee Mickey Mantle’s 1st game, he goes 1 for 4
1953 – Mickey Mantle hits a 565′ (172 m) HR in Wash DC’s Griffith Stadium
1956 – Willie Mosconi sinks 150 consecutive balls in a billiard tournament
1958 – Brussel’s (Belgium) World Fair opens
1961 – 1,400 Cuban exiles land in Bay of Pigs attempt to overthrow Castro
1964 – Ford Mustang formally introduced ($2368 base)
1964 – Jerrie Mock becomes 1st woman to fly solo around the world
1967 – Shortwave Radio NY Worldwide goes back on the air after a week off
1967 – Surveyor 3 launched; soft lands on Moon, April 20
1969 – Bernadette Devlin elected to British house of commons
1969 – Czechoslovakia’s Communist Party chairman Alexander Dubcek deposed
1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Sen Robert F Kennedy
1969 – The Band (formerly The Hawks), perform their 1st concert
1970 – Apollo 13 limps back safely, Beech-built oxygen tank no help
1972 – 1st Boston Women’s Marathon won by Nina Kuscsik of NY in 3:10:26
1972 – 76th Boston Marathon won by Olavi Suomalainen of Finland in 2:15:39
1973 – 2nd Boston Women’s Marathon won by Jacqueline Hansen of CA in 3:05:59
1973 – 77th Boston Marathon won by Jon Anderson of Oreg in 2:16:03
1973 – German counter-terrorist unit GSG 9 founded.
1974 – Bundy victim Susan Rancourt disappears from CWU, Ellensburg, WA
1974 – Moslem fundamentalists assault military academy in Heliopolis Egypt
1975 – Khmer Rouge captures Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Kampuchea Natl Day)
1975 – Phnom Penh fell to Communist insurgents, ending Cambodia’s 5-year war
1978 – 63,500,000 shares traded on NY stock exchange (record)
1978 – 7th Boston Women’s Marathon won by Gayle Barron of Ga in 2:44:52
1978 – 82nd Boston Marathon won by Bill Rodgers of Mass in 2:10:13
1978 – Pulitzer prize awarded to Carl Sagan for “Dragons of Eden”
1982 – Canada adopts its constitution
1983 – Grete Waitz runs female world record marathon (2:25:29)
1983 – In Warsaw, police route 1,000 Solidarity supporters
1983 – India entered space age launching SLV-3 rocket
1983 – Nolan Ryan strikes out his 3,500th batter
1983 – Islanders tie NHL record with 3 shorthanded playoff goals vs Rangers Rangers 7-Isles 6-Patrick Div Finals-Isles hold 2-1 lead Wayne Gretzky scores 7 goals in one Stanley Cup playoff game
1986 – IBM produces 1st megabit-chip
1986 – Netherlands & Scilly Islands sign peace treaty (war of 1651)
1986 – Pulitzer prize awarded to Larry McMurtry for “Lonesome Dove”
1987 – Julius Erving becomes 3rd NBA player to score 30,000 points
1989 – 18th Boston Women’s Marath won by Ingrid Kristiansen of Nor in 2:24:33
1989 – 93rd Boston Marathon won by Abebe Mekonen of Ethiopia in 2:09:06
1989 – Maximum NY State unemployment benefits raised to $245 per week
1990 – Gas explodes on passenger train in Kumrahar India, 80 die
1991 – Dow Jones closes above 3,000 for 1st time (3,004.46)
1991 – Railroad workers go on strike in US
1993 – Police officers found guilty of violating Rodney Kings civil rights
1995 – 24th Boston Women’s Marathon won by Uta Pippig of Germany in 2:25:11
1995 – 99th Boston Marathon won by Cosmas Ndeti of Kenya in 2:09:22
1997 – John Bell, 115, recieves new pacemaker
2002 – Four Canadian Forces soldiers are killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire from two United States Air Force F-16s, the first deaths in a combat zone for Canada since the Korean War.
2012 – The St Cuthbert Gospel, Europe’s oldest intact book, purchased by the British Library for 9 million pounds
Births
1278 – Michael IX Palaeologus, co-ruling Eastern Roman Emperor (d. 1320)
1539 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter/cartoonist (Comedia)
1586 – John Ford, English dramatist (‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore)
1598 – Giovanni Riccioli, Italian astronomer (d. 1671)
1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame (d. 1700)
1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, British Freemason (d. 1767)
1741 – Johann Gottlieb Naumann, composer
1741 – Samuel Chase, supreme court justice (signed Decl of Ind)
1788 – Joseph Gilbert Totten, Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1864
1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician (d. 1840)
1809 – Philip St George Cocke, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1861
1813 – Henry Washington Benham, Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1884
1827 – French C Baeckelmans, Flemish architect (St Amanduskerk, Antwerp)
1837 – John Pierpont Morgan, US banker/CEO (US Steel)
1845 – Isabel Barrows, US, editor/penologist (Conference on Negro Question)
1849 – William R. Day, American diplomat and Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1923)
1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician (d. 1940)
1866 – Ernest Starling, British physiologist (d. 1927)
1885 – Karen Blixen-Finecke, [pen name Isak Dinesen], Danish writer (Out of Africa)
1895 – Bert Wheeler, actor (Nitwits, Hold ’em Jail, High Flyers, Rainmakers)
1896 – Senor Wences, ventriloquist (his hand acts as a puppet)
1897 – Thornton N Wilder, US, novelist/playwright (Our Town)
1904 – Edward Chodorov, playwright/director (Story of Louis Pasteur)
1905 – Arthur Lake, Corbin Ky, actor (Dagwood-Blondie)
1915 – Joe Foss, American WWII USMC ace pilot and Medal Of Honor recipient (d. 2003)
1916 – David Stafford-Clark, psychiatrist
1916 – Donald Gibson, British vice-admiral
1916 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, world’s 1st woman PM (Sri Lanka, 1960..77)
1918 – Anne Shirley, UK, actress (Devil & Daniel Webster, Stella Dallas)
1918 – William Holden, Ill, actor (Stalag 17, Bridge Over River Kwai, SOB)
1921 – Donald Barron, CEO (Midland Bank)
1923 – Harry Reasoner, Dakota City Iowa, newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC, CBS)
1923 – Lloyd Biggle Jr, US, sci-fi author (Silence is Deadly)
1923 – Norman Potter, cabinetmaker designer/writer
1926 – G M Hughes, professor/zoologist
1928 – Cynthia Ozick, US, author (Pagan Rabbi & Other Stories)
1929 – James Last, orchestra leader/composer/arranger
1930 – Chris Barber, jazz trombonist
1934 – Don Kirshner, rock & roll producer (invented bubblegum music)
1936 – Pete Graves, rocker (Moonglows)
1937 – Daffy Duck, animated character
1937 – Eduard N Stepanov, Russian cosmonaut
1939 – Robin Knox-Johnston, yachtsman
1943 – Roy Estrada, rocker (Mothers Of Invention)
1946 – Clare Francis, yachtswoman/novelist (Come Hell or High Water)
1948 – Jan Hammer, composer (Escape from TV, Miami Vice)
1949 – Heini Hemmi, Switzerland, giant slalom (Olympic-gold-1976)
1951 – Olivia Hussey, Buenos Aires, actress (Romeo & Juliet, Death on Nile)
1952 – Željko Ražnatović, Serbian warlord (d. 2000)
1954 – Riccardo Patrese, driver (Grand Prix)
1954 – Michael Sembello, American musician
1955 – Pete Shelley, vocal/guitar (Buzzcocks-Going Steady, Love Bites)
1956 – Pillow, [Therese Joan Bell], California, bodybuilder (Gold Classic 1983)
1957 – Nick Hornby, English author
1959 – Sean Bean, English actor (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, A Game of Thrones)
1959 – Teri Austin, Toronto Canada, actress (Terminal Choice, Knots Landing)
1961 – Boomer Esiason, NFL quarterback (NY Jets, Cincinnati Bengals)
1962 – Nancy Hogshead, Iowa City, swimmer (Olympic-gold-1984)/model (jockey)
1964 – Raye Hollit, American Gladiator (Zap)
1966 – Lela Rochon, actress (Waiting to Exhale)
1967 – Liz Phair, American musician/songwriter
1969 – Alexander McQueen, fashion designer
1972 – Jennifer Garner [Affleck], Houston, Texas. American actress (Sydney Bristow-Alias)
1972 – Claire Sweeney, English actress
1973 – Brett Maher, Adelaide SA Australia, basketball guard (Olympics-96)
1974 – Victoria Beckham [Adams], Harlow, Essex, English singer (Posh Spice-Spice Girls)
1976 – Nadine Thomas, Miss Jamaica Universe (1997)
1976 – Monet Mazur, American actress and musician
1978 – Jason White, Scottish rugby player
1981 – Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
Deaths
326 – Alexander of Alexandria, Patriarch of Alexandria
485 – Proclus, Greek mathematician, dies in Athens [or Apr 14]
617 – Donnán of Eigg, Celtic Christian martyr, patron saint of Eigg
818 – Bernhard I, King of Italy, dies
858 – Benedict III, Italian Pope (855-58), dies
1080 – King Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)
1272 – Zita/Cita, Italian maid/saint, dies at about 59
1427 – Jan IV, duke of Brabant/Limburg/wife of Jacoba van Bayern, dies
1574 – Joachim Camerarius, [Liebhard Kammerer], German philologist, dies
1630 – Christian I, ruler of Anhalt-Bernburg (battle of White Mt), dies
1680 – Kateri Tekakwitha, first American Indian to receive beatification (b. 1656)
1761 – Thomas Bayes, English mathematician
1790 – Benjamin Franklin, US, (Poor Richards Almanac), dies at 84
1799 – Richard Jupp, English architect (b. 1728)
1835 – William Henry Ireland, forger (Shakespearean manuscripts), dies
1838 – J Schopenhauer, writer, dies at 71
1843 – Samuel Morey, American inventor (b. 1762)
1863 – Daniel Smith Donelson, Confederate general/cousin of Andrew Jackson, dies at 61
1882 – George Jennings Sanitary engineer (b. 1810)
1941 – Al Bowlly, British dance band vocalist (b. 1899)
1942 – Jean Perrin, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
1945 – Hannie Schaft, “Girl with red hair,” executed
1945 – Walter Model, German fieldmarshal, commits suicide at 54
1960 – Eddie Cochran, rocker, dies at 21 in a car crash
1967 – Red Allen, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1908)
1968 – Margaret Seddon, dies at 95
1974 – Vinnie Taylor, rocker (Canned Heat), dies of a drug overdose
1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
1983 – Felix Pappalardi, rocker (Cream, Mountain), dies
1983 – Mark W Clark, US general (WW II), dies at 87
1987 – Carlton Barrett, Jamaican reggae drummer (No woman no cry), dies at 36
1987 – Dick Shawn, comedian (Producers), dies on stage at 57
1988 – Eva Novak, actress (Medicine Man), dies of pneumonia at 90
1990 – Ralph David Abernathy, US civil rights leader, dies
1992 – Hank Penny, country music singer, dies at 73 of heart failure
1996 – Jose Luis Lopez Aranguren, philosopher, dies at 86
1997 – Chaim Herzog, President of Israel (1983-93), dies at 78
1998 – Linda McCartney, American-born wife of Paul McCartney (b. 1941)
2003 – Robert Atkins, American dietician (b. 1930)
2003 – Paul Getty, American-born philanthropist (b. 1932)
2003 – Earl King, American musician and songwriter (b. 1934)
2003 – Yiannis Latsis, Greek shipping tycoon (b. 1910)
2007 – Kitty Carlisle, American actress and television personality (b. 1910)
2008 – Danny Federici, organ player for E-Street Band (b. 1950)
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