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Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City







1870
April 13



On April 13, 1870 the Metropolitan Museum of Art is officially incorporated in New York City.
The brainchild of American expatriates in Paris and a number of wealthy New Yorkers, the Met
would not put on an exhibition until 1872, but it quickly blossomed into one of the world’s premier
repositories of fine art, a position it holds to this day.

In 1866, a group of Paris-based American socialites that included the lawyer John Jay resolved
to create “a national institution and gallery of art.” Jay and his friends appealed to the
Union League Club of New York, which in turn gathered the social and political clout, as well
as the financial backing, necessary for such an endeavor. On this day in 1870, the city granted
them an Act of Incorporation, stipulating that the collection be kept open to the public
year-round and free of charge.

The Met acquired its first object, a Roman sarcophagus, the following November. Its subsequent
purchase of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art, completed in 1876, made the Met North America’s
premier destination for artifacts and artwork from Antiquity. Thanks in part to the outbreak of
the Franco-Prussian War, Jay was able to acquire a stunning 174 pieces by the Dutch Old Masters
in 1871, giving the museum a substantial collection by the time it opened at its first location
in 1872. In 1880, ten years after its founding, the Met moved to its current location on
Fifth Avenue at 82 Street. The Met continues to display some of the world’s largest collections
of European and Antique art, and has expanded to include works from every continent and
nearly every medium. Today, the Met is not only one of the leading artistic and social institutions
in New York but one of the best-known and most-visited museums in the world,
hosting around 7 million visitors a year.





ALSO ON THIS DAY




21ST CENTURY
2017
U.S. military drops "Mother of All Bombs" on ISIS tunnel complex
On April 13, 2017, American forces in Afghanistan drop one of the largest
non-nuclear weapons ever used by the U.S. military. The “Mother of All Bombs”
hits an Islamic State tunnel complex with power equal to 11 tons of explosives.
More than 90 Islamic State militants died in the ... read more




SPORTS
1978
Fans toss candy bars onto field, disrupting MLB game

On April 13, 1978, opening day at Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees give
away thousands of Reggie! bars to fans, who naturally toss them onto the field
after star outfielder Reggie Jackson homers in his first at-bat.
The grounds crew cleans up the goodies, delaying the game ... read more




INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1928
First nonstop flight from Europe to North America

German pilot Hermann Köhl, Irish aviator James Fitzmaurice and
Baron Ehrenfried Günther Freiherr von Hünefeld, the expedition’s financier,
complete the first Europe to North America transatlantic flight, taking off
from Ireland and landing safely on a small Canadian island.
The ... read more




INDIA
1919
British and Gurkha troops massacre hundreds of
unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar Massacre

In Amritsar, India’s holy city of the Sikh religion, British and Gurkha troops
massacre at least 379 unarmed demonstrators meeting at the Jallianwala Bagh,
a city park. Most of those killed were Indian nationalists meeting to protest the
British government’s forced conscription ...read more




WORLD WAR II
1941
Japan and USSR sign nonaggression pact

During World War II, representatives from the Soviet Union and Japan sign a
five-year neutrality agreement. Although traditional enemies, the nonaggression
pact allowed both nations to free up large numbers of troops occupying disputed
territory in Manchuria and Outer Mongolia to ...read more





SPACE EXPLORATION
1970
Apollo 13 oxygen tank explodes

On April 13, 1970, disaster strikes 200,000 miles from Earth when oxygen
tank No. 2 blows up on Apollo 13, the third manned lunar landing mission.
Astronauts James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise had left
Earth two days before for the Fra Mauro highlands of the moon ...read more

John Wilkes Booth shoots Abraham Lincoln



1865
April 14







President Abraham Lincoln is shot in the head at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.
on April 14, 1865. The assassin, actor John Wilkes Booth, shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis!
(Ever thus to tyrants!) The South is avenged,” as he jumped onto the stage and fled
on horseback. Lincoln died the next morning.

Booth, who remained in the North during the war despite his Confederate sympathies,
initially plotted to capture President Lincoln and take him to Richmond, the Confederate
capital. However, on March 20, 1865, the day of the planned kidnapping, the president
failed to appear at the spot where Booth and his six fellow conspirators lay in wait.
Two weeks later, Richmond fell to Union forces. In April, with Confederate armies near
collapse across the South, Booth hatched a desperate plan to save the Confederacy.

Learning that Lincoln was to attend Laura Keene’s acclaimed performance in Our American
Cousin at Ford’s Theater on April 14, Booth plotted the simultaneous assassination of Lincoln,
Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward. By murdering
the president and two of his possible successors, Booth and his conspirators hoped to throw
the U.S. government into a paralyzing disarray.

On the evening of April 14, conspirator Lewis T. Powell burst into Secretary of State Seward’s
home, seriously wounding him and three others, while George A. Atzerodt, assigned to
Vice President Johnson, lost his nerve and fled.

Meanwhile, just after 10 p.m., Booth entered Lincoln’s private theater box unnoticed, and
shot the president with a single bullet in the back of his head. Although Booth had broken
his left leg jumping from Lincoln’s box, he succeeded in escaping Washington.

The president, mortally wounded, was carried to a cheap lodging house opposite Ford’s Theater.
About 7:22 a.m. the next morning, he died—the first U.S. president to be assassinated.

Booth was a well-regarded actor who was particularly loved in the South before the Civil War.
During the war, he stayed in the North and became increasingly bitter when audiences
weren’t as enamored of him as they were in Dixie. Along with friends Samuel Arnold,
Michael O’Laughlin and John Surratt, Booth conspired to kidnap Lincoln and deliver him
to the South.

On March 17, along with George Atzerodt, David Herold and Lewis Powell, the group met in
a Washington bar to plot the abduction of the president three days later. However, when the
president changed his plans, the scheme was scuttled. Shortly afterward, the South
surrendered to the Union and the conspirators altered their plan. They decided to kill Lincoln,
Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward on the same evening.

When April 14 came around, Atzerodt backed out of his part to kill Johnson. Upset, Booth
went to drink at a saloon near Ford’s Theatre. At about 10 p.m. he walked into the theater
and up to the president’s box. Lincoln’s guard, John Parker, was not there because he had
gotten bored with the play and left his post to get a beer. Booth easily slipped in and shot
the president in the back of the head. The president’s friend, Major Rathbone, attempted
to grab Booth but was slashed by Booth’s knife. Booth injured his leg badly when he jumped
to the stage to escape, but he managed to hobble outside to his horse.

Meanwhile, Lewis Powell forced his way into William Seward’s house and stabbed the secretary
of state several times before fleeing. Booth rode to Virginia with David Herold and stopped at
the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd, who placed splints on Booth’s legs. They hid in a barn on
Richard Garrett’s farm as thousands of Union troops combed the area looking for them.
The other conspirators were captured, except for John Surratt, who fled to Canada.

When the troops finally caught up with Booth and Herold on April 26, they gave them the
option of surrendering before the barn was burned down. Herold decided to surrender,
but Booth remained in the barn as it went up in flames. Booth was then shot and killed
in the burning barn by Corporal Boston Corbett. On July 7, George Atzerodt, Lewis Powell,
David Herold, and John Surratt’s mother, Mary, were hanged in Washington. The execution
of Mary Surratt is believed by some to have been a miscarriage of justice. Although there
was proof of Surratt’s involvement in the original abduction conspiracy, it is clear that her
deeds were minor compared to those of the others who were executed.

Her son John was eventually tracked down in Egypt and brought back to trial, but he managed,
with the help of clever lawyers, to win an acquittal.





ALSO ON THIS DAY




SPORTS
1996
Greg Norman blows six-shot 

Masters lead in epic collapse

On April 14, 1996, third-round leader Greg Norman loses a six-shot lead in the final
round of the Masters golf tournament and finishes second—one of the worst collapses
in sports history. Nick Faldo wins the green jacket, finishing five strokes ahead of
Norman. "I played like a ... read more



SPORTS
1910
Taft becomes first U.S. president to 

throw out first pitch at MLB game

On April 14, 1910, President William Howard Taft becomes the first president to
throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game. The historic
toss on opening day is to star Walter Johnson, the Washington Senators' starting
pitcher against the Philadelphia ... read more



WORLD WAR I
1918
American pilots engage in first 

dogfight over the western front

Six days after being assigned for the first time to the western front, two American
pilots from the U.S. First Aero Squadron engage in America’s first aerial dogfight
with enemy aircraft. In a battle fought almost directly over the Allied Squadron
Aerodome at Toul, France, U.S. ... read more



AFRICA
1986
U.S. bombs terrorist and 

military targets in Libya

On April 14, 1986, the United States launches air strikes against Libya in retaliation
for the Libyan sponsorship of terrorism against American troops and citizens.
The raid, which began shortly before 7 p.m. EST (2 a.m., April 15 in Libya),
involved more than 100 U.S. Air Force ... read more



1980's
1988
Soviets agree to withdraw 

from Afghanistan

Representatives of the USSR, Afghanistan, the United States and Pakistan sign
an agreement calling for the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan.
In exchange for an end to the disputed Soviet occupation, the United States
agreed to end its arms support for the Afghan ... read more



VIETNAM WAR
1975
Operation "Baby Lift” concludes after flying 

2,600 South Vietnamese orphans to the U.S.

The American airlift of Vietnamese orphans to the United States ends after
2,600 children are transported to America. The operation began disastrously
on April 4 when an Air Force cargo jet crashed shortly after take-off from
Tan Son Nhut airbase in Saigon. More than 138 of the ... read more

Titanic sinks



1912
April 15







At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, the British ocean liner Titanic sinks into the North Atlantic Ocean
about 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada. The massive ship, which carried 2,200 passengers
and crew, had struck an iceberg two and half hours before.

On April 10, the RMS Titanic, one of the largest and most luxurious ocean liners ever built,
departed Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The Titanic
was designed by the Irish shipbuilder William Pirrie and built in Belfast, and was thought to
be the world’s fastest ship. It spanned 883 feet from stern to bow, and its hull was divided
into 16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight. Because four of these compartments
could be flooded without causing a critical loss of buoyancy, the Titanic was considered unsinkable.
While leaving port, the ship came within a couple of feet of the steamer New York but passed
safely by, causing a general sigh of relief from the passengers massed on the Titanic‘s decks.
On its first journey across the highly competitive Atlantic ferry route, the ship carried some
2,200 passengers and crew.

After stopping at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, to pick up some final passengers,
the massive vessel set out at full speed for New York City. However, just before midnight on
April 14, the RMS Titanic failed to divert its course from an iceberg and ruptured at least five
of its hull compartments. These compartments filled with water and pulled down the bow of
the ship. Because the Titanic‘s compartments were not capped at the top, water from the
ruptured compartments filled each succeeding compartment, causing the bow to sink and
the stern to be raised up to an almost vertical position above the water. Then the Titanic
broke in half, and, at about 2:20 a.m. on April 15, stern and bow sank to the ocean floor.

Because of a shortage of lifeboats and the lack of satisfactory emergency procedures, more
than 1,500 people went down in the sinking ship or froze to death in the icy North Atlantic
waters. Most of the 700 or so survivors were women and children. A number of notable
American and British citizens died in the tragedy, including the noted British journalist
William Thomas Stead and heirs to the Straus, Astor and Guggenheim fortunes.

One hour and 20 minutes after Titanic went down, the Cunard liner Carpathia arrived. The
survivors in the lifeboats were brought aboard, and a handful of others were pulled out of the
water. It was later discovered that the Leyland liner Californian had been less than 20 miles
away at the time of the accident but had failed to hear the Titanic‘s distress signals because
its radio operator was off duty.

Announcement of details of the tragedy led to outrage on both sides of the Atlantic. In the
disaster’s aftermath, the first International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea was held in
1913. Rules were adopted requiring that every ship have lifeboat space for each person on
board, and that lifeboat drills be held. An International Ice Patrol was established to monitor
icebergs in the North Atlantic shipping lanes. It was also required that ships maintain a
24-hour radio watch.

On September 1, 1985, a joint U.S.-French expedition located the wreck of the Titanic lying on
the ocean floor at a depth of about 13,000 feet. The ship was explored by manned and unmanned
submersibles, which shed new light on the details of its sinking.




Titanic Sinks REAL TIME
2:41





ALSO ON THIS DAY





THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1947
Jackie Robinson breaks color barrier

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson, age 28, becomes the first African American player in
Major League Baseball when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete for the
Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier in a sport that had been segregated
for more than 50 ... read more



SPORTS
1997
MLB retires Jackie Robinson's number

On April 15, 1997, the 50 anniversary of his first Major League Baseball game, the league
retires Jackie Robinson’s number, 42. Robinson, whose breaking of the “color barrier” in 1947
was a major moment in the history of racial integration in the United States, is the only
player ... read more




CRIME
2013
Three people killed, hundreds injured in Boston Marathon bombing

On April 15, 2013, two bombs go off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing
three spectators and wounding more than 260 other people in attendance. Four days later,
after an intense manhunt that shut down the Boston area, police captured one of the
bombing suspects ... read more




U.S. PRESIDENTS
1865
President Lincoln dies
At 7:22 a.m., Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, dies from a bullet
wound inflicted the night before by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer.
The president’s death came only six days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee
surrendered his ... read more




1990S
1998
Pol Pot, leader of Cambodia’s genocidal government, dies in his sleep

Pol Pot, the architect of Cambodia’s killing fields, dies of apparently natural causes while
serving a life sentence imposed against him by his own Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge,
organized by Pol Pot in the Cambodian jungle in the 1960s, advocated a radical communist
revolution ... read more




ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1894
Bessie Smith is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee

Despite the immense influence her records had on the shape and course of American popular
music in the 20th century, the recorded legacy of Bessie Smith only captures part of her
historical significance. Yes, her first recording, “Downhearted Blues” (1923) sold a
then-astonishing ... read more

Fertilizer explosion kills 581 in Texas


1947
April 16



Texas City Explosion of 1947



A giant explosion occurs during the loading of fertilizer onto the freighter Grandcamp at a
pier in Texas City, Texas, on April 16, 1947. Nearly 600 people lost their lives and thousands
were injured when the ship was literally blown to bits.

Ammonium nitrate was used as an explosive by the U.S. Army in World War II and, after the
war ended, production of the chemical continued as its use as a fertilizer became accepted.
However, the precautions used in its transport became far more lax in the post-war years.

On April 16, the Grandcamp was being loaded with ammonium nitrate as well as tobacco and
government-owned ammunition. Cigarette smoking, although officially banned, was a common
practice by longshoremen on the docks. Just two days prior to the explosion, a cigarette had
caused a fire on the docks. On the morning of April 16, smoke was spotted deep within
one of the Grandcamp‘s holds.

Some water and an extinguisher were used to fight the fire, but hoses were not employed for fear
of ruining the cargo; there were already 2,300 tons loaded on the ship. While the ammunition was
removed from the ship, the crew attempted to restrict oxygen to the hold in hopes of putting out
the fire. Apparently they did not realize that because of ammonium nitrate’s chemical composition,
it does not require oxygen in order to burn.

By 9 a.m., flames had erupted from the hold and within minutes it exploded. The blast was heard
150 miles away and was so powerful that the ship’s 1.5- ton anchor was found two miles away.
The force of the explosion lifted another ship right out of the water. People working at the docks
were killed instantly.

Pieces of flaming debris damaged the oil refineries in the area. A nearby Monsanto chemical storage
facility also exploded, killing 234 of the 574 workers there. Nearly all of the survivors were seriously
injured. A residential area of 500 homes was also leveled by the blast. Another ship, the High Flyer,
which was carrying similar cargo, was pushed completely across the harbor. The crew fled when
it came to rest, failing to notice that a fire had started and the next day their ship also exploded.
Two people died.

In all, 581 people died and 3,500 were injured. The explosion caused $100 million in damages.
A long-disputed court case over the cause of the blast was resolved when Congress granted
compensation to 1,394 victims. They received a total of $17 million in 1955.
The port was rebuilt to handle oil products only.









ALSO ON THIS DAY




ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
2018
Kendrick Lamar becomes the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize

On April 16, 2018, the Pulitzer Prize Board awards the Pulitzer Prize for Music to rapper
Kendrick Lamar for his 2017 album, DAMN. It was the first time the award had gone to
a musical work outside the genres of classical music and jazz, a watershed moment
for the Pulitzers and ... read more



CRIME
2007
Virginia Tech shooting leaves 32 dead

On April 16, 2007, 32 people died after being gunned down on the campus of Virginia Tech
by Seung-Hui Cho, a student at the college who later died by suicide. The Virginia Tech
shooting began around 7:15 a.m., when Cho, a 23-year-old senior and English major at
Blacksburg-based ... read more



SPACE EXPLORATION
1972
Apollo 16 departs for moon

From Cape Canaveral, Florida, Apollo 16, the fifth of six U.S. lunar landing missions, is
successfully launched on its 238,000-mile journey to the moon. On April 20, astronauts
John W. Young and Charles M. Duke descended to the lunar surface from Apollo 16,
which remained in ... read more



INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1943
Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered

In Basel, Switzerland, Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical
research laboratory, accidentally consumes LSD-25, a synthetic drug he had created in 1938
as part of his research into the medicinal value of lysergic acid compounds.
After taking the ... read more



CRIME
1881
Western gunslinger, Bat Masterson, fights in last shootout

On the streets of Dodge City, famous western lawman and gunfighter Bat Masterson fights
the last gun battle of his life. Bartholomew “Bat” Masterson had made a living with his gun
from a young age. In his early 20s, Masterson worked as a buffalo hunter,
operating out of the wild ... read more







ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1889
Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin born

On April 16, 1889, future Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin is born Charles Spencer Chaplin
in London, England. Chaplin, one of the most financially successful stars of early Hollywood,
was introduced to the stage when he was five. The son of London music hall entertainers,
young ... read more







COLD WAR
1947
Bernard Baruch coins the term “Cold War”

Multimillionaire and financier Bernard Baruch, in a speech given during the unveiling of his
portrait in the South Carolina House of Representatives, coins the term “Cold War” to describe
relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. The phrase stuck,
and for over 40 ... read more



INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1946
Arthur Chevrolet dies by suicide

On April 16, 1946, Arthur Chevrolet, an auto racer and the brother of Chevrolet auto
namesake Louis Chevrolet, dies by suicide in Slidell, Louisiana. Louis Chevrolet was born
in Switzerland in 1878, while Arthur’s birth year has been listed as 1884 and 1886.
By the early 1900s ... read more







WORLD WAR I
1917
Lenin returns to Russia from exile

On April 16, 1917, Vladimir Lenin, leader of the revolutionary Bolshevik Party, returns
to Petrograd after a decade of exile to take the reins of the Russian Revolution.
Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in 1870, Lenin was drawn to the revolutionary cause
after his brother was... read more

Indonesian volcano erupts,
killing 80,000


1815
April 17






Heavy eruptions of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia are letting up by April 17, 1815.
The volcano, which began rumbling on April 5, killed almost 100,000 people directly and
indirectly. The eruption was the largest ever recorded and its effects were noted
throughout the world.

Tambora is located on Sumbawa Island, on the eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago.
There had been no signs of volcanic activity there for thousands of years prior to the
1815 eruption. On April 10, the first of a series of eruptions that month sent ash 20 miles
into the atmosphere, covering the island with ash to a height of 1.5 meters.

Five days later, Tambora erupted violently once again. This time, so much ash was expelled
that the sun was not seen for several days. Flaming hot debris thrown into the surrounding
ocean caused explosions of steam. The debris also caused a moderate-sized tsunami. In all,
so much rock and ash was thrown out of Tambora that the height of the volcano was reduced
from 14,000 to 9,000 feet.

The worst explosions were heard hundreds of miles away. The eruptions of Tambora also
affected the climate worldwide. Enough ash had been thrown into the atmosphere that global
temperatures were reduced over the next year; it also caused spectacularly colored sunsets
throughout the world. The eruption was blamed for snow and frost in New England during
June and July that summer.

Ten thousand people were killed by the eruptions, most on Sumbawa Island. In subsequent
months, more than 80,000 people died in the surrounding area from starvation due to the
resulting crop failures and disease.





ALSO ON THIS DAY




EARLY US
1790
Benjamin Franklin dies

On April 17, 1790, American statesman, printer, scientist and writer
Benjamin Franklin dies in Philadelphia at age 84. Born in Boston in 1706,
Franklin became at 12 years old an apprentice to his half brother James,
a printer and publisher. He learned the printing trade and in ... read more



WORLD WAR II
1941
Yugoslavia surrenders to the Nazis

During World War II, representatives of Yugoslavia’s various regions sign
an armistice with Nazi Germany at Belgrade, ending 11 days of futile
resistance against the invading German Wehrmacht. More than 300,000
Yugoslav officers and soldiers were taken prisoner.
Only 200 Germans ... read more



COLD WAR
1969
Architect of Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring resigns

Alexander Dubcek, the communist leader who launched a broad program
of liberal reforms in Czechoslovakia, is forced to resign as first secretary
by the Soviet forces occupying his country. The staunchly pro-Soviet
Gustav Husak was appointed
Czechoslovak leader in his place ... read more



SPACE EXPLORATION
1970
Apollo 13 returns to Earth

With the world anxiously watching, Apollo 13, a U.S. lunar spacecraft that
suffered a severe malfunction on its journey to the moon, safely returns to
Earth on April 17, 1970. On April 11, the third manned lunar landing mission
was launched from Florida, carrying astronauts James ... read more



VIETNAM WAR
1975
Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge

Khmer Rouge troops capture Phnom Penh and government forces surrender.
The war between government troops and the communist insurgents had been
raging since March 1970, when Lt. Gen. Lon Nol had ousted
Prince Norodom Sihanouk in a bloodless coup and proclaimed
the establishment of ... read more



ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1960
Eddie Cochran dies, and Gene Vincent is injured, in a UK car accident

Eddie Cochran, the man behind “Summertime Blues” and “C’mon Everybody,”
was killed on April 17, 1960 when the taxi carrying him from a show in
Bristol, England, crashed en route to the airport in London, where he was
to catch a flight back home to the United States.
A raw and ... read more



ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
2002
"General Hospital" airs 10,000th episode

On April 17, 2002, ABC airs the 10,000th episode of the daytime drama
General Hospital, the network’s longest-running soap opera and the
longest-running program ever produced in Hollywood. Created by Frank
and Doris Hursley, General Hospital premiered on April 1, 1963.
It was set ... read more







CRIME
1936
A single horsehair helps solve murder of Nancy Titterton

After a week of tracking down every conceivable lead, police finally find
the evidence they need in order to break the case of Nancy Titterton’s
rape-murder in New York City. Titterton, a novelist and the wife of NBC
executive Lewis Titterton,
was raped and strangled in her ... read more



COLD WAR
1961
The Bay of Pigs invasion begins

The Bay of Pigs invasion begins when a CIA-financed and -trained group
of Cuban refugees lands in Cuba and attempts to topple the communist
government of Fidel Castro. The attack was an utter failure. Fidel Castro
had been a concern to U.S. policymakers
since he seized power in ... read more



INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1964
Ford Mustang debuts at World’s Fair

The Ford Mustang is officially unveiled by Henry Ford II at the
World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York, on April 17, 1964.
That same day, the new car also debuted in Ford showrooms across
America and almost 22,000 Mustangs were immediately
snapped up by buyers.
Named for a ... read more







WORLD WAR I
1917
Second Battle of Gaza begins

As the major Allied offensive masterminded by Robert Nivelle was failing
miserably on the Western Front, British forces in Palestine make their
second attempt to capture the city of Gaza from the Ottoman army on
April 17, 1917.
In the wake of the failed British assault on Gaza ... read more



WORLD WAR II
1942
General Henri Giraud makes his great escape

On April 17, 1942, French General Henri Giraud, who was captured in 1940,
escapes from a castle prison at Konigstein by lowering himself down the
castle wall and jumping on board a moving train, which takes him to the
French border.
Hitler, outraged, ordered Giraud’s ... read more

Dick Clark, host of “American Bandstand”
and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” dies


2012
April 18







On April 18, 2012, Dick Clark, the TV personality and producer best known for hosting
“American Bandstand,” an influential music-and-dance show that aired nationally from
1957 to 1989 and helped bring rock `n’ roll into the mainstream in the late 1950s,
dies of a heart attack at age 82 in Santa Monica, California. The clean-cut, youthful-looking
Clark, dubbed “America’s Oldest Teenager,” also was the longtime host of the annual
telecast “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” and headed an entertainment empire that developed
game shows, awards shows, talk shows, made-for-TV movies and other programs.

Richard Wagstaff Clark was born on November 30, 1929, and raised in Mount Vernon, New York.
His father was a salesman who later managed a radio station. Clark graduated from
Syracuse University in 1951 and moved to Philadelphia the following year to work as a
radio disc jockey. In 1956, he became the host of a local, teen-oriented TV show called
“Bandstand” (launched in 1952) after the original host was fired.

In 1957, “American Bandstand,” as it was renamed, began airing nationwide. The program,
which showcased ordinary teenagers dancing to records and musical acts introduced by Clark,
quickly became a hit with millions of young viewers, who tuned in for the latest music, fashions
and dance crazes. Clark helped end the then-standard practice of having white singers cover
the songs of black artists on TV, and a number of African-American performers, including
Chuck Berry and Chubby Checker, made their national TV debut on “American Bandstand.”

In 1960, amidst the show’s success, Clark was called to testify before a congressional
subcommittee investigating the practice of payola, in which record companies bribed disc
jockeys in order to get airplay for records. At the hearings, Clark testified to holding an
ownership stake in more than 30 different record labels, distributors and manufacturers,
and featuring the acts from those labels on “American Bandstand.” He denied doing anything
illegal and was never charged with a crime. However, prior to the hearings, ABC, which
broadcast “American Bandstand,” directed Clark to divest himself of all his music-related
businesses, a move said to cost him millions of dollars.

The music impresario furthered his place in pop culture as the host and producer of
“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” a TV special that debuted in 1974 and included
musical performances and live coverage of the ball drop from New York City’s Times Square.
Clark helmed the telecast every year until December 31, 2004, having suffered a stroke
earlier that month. Though the stroke left him speech-impaired, he returned to the
countdown special the following year, with Ryan Seacrest as co-host, and continued to
make annual appearances through 2011.










ALSO ON THIS DAY




EXPLORATION
2014
Mt. Everest sees its single deadliest day

On April 18, 2014, 16 Nepali mountaineering guides, most of them ethnic Sherpas,
are killed by an avalanche on Mt. Everest. It was the single deadliest accident in
the history of the Himalayan peak, which rises more than 29,000 feet above
sea level and lies across the border ... read more



MIDDLE EAST
1983
Suicide bomber destroys U.S. embassy in Beirut

The U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, is almost completely destroyed by a car-bomb
explosion that kills 63 people, including the suicide bomber and 17 Americans. The
terrorist attack was carried out in protest of the U.S. military presence in Lebanon.
In 1975, a bloody civil war ... read more



REFORMATION
1521
Martin Luther defiant at Diet of Worms

Martin Luther, the chief catalyst of Protestantism, defies the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
by refusing to recant his writings. He had been called to Worms, Germany, to appear
before the Diet (assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire and answer charges of heresy.
Martin Luther was a ... read more




WORLD WAR II
1945
War correspondent Ernie Pyle killed

During World War II, journalist Ernie Pyle, America’s most popular war correspondent,
is killed by Japanese machine-gun fire on the island of Ie Shima in the Pacific.
Pyle, born in Dana, Indiana, first began writing a column for the Scripps-Howard
newspaper chain in 1935 ... read more




WORLD WAR II
1942
Doolittle leads air raid on Tokyo

On April 18, 1942, 16 American B-25 bombers, launched from the aircraft carrier
USS Hornet 650 miles east of Japan and commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle,
attack the Japanese mainland. The now-famous Tokyo Raid did little real
damage to Japan (wartime Premier ... read more




NATURAL DISASTERS & ENVIRONMENT
1906
The Great San Francisco Earthquake topples buildings, killing hundreds

On April 18, 1906, at 5:13 a.m., an earthquake estimated at close to 8.0 on the
Richter scale strikes San Francisco, California, killing an estimated 3,000 people
as it topples numerous buildings. The quake was caused by a slip of the
San Andreas Fault over a segment about 275 ... read more




SPORTS
1983
Joan Benoit wins Boston Marathon

Joan Benoit wins her second Boston Marathon in the women’s division with a time
of 2:22:43 on April 18, 1983. The following year, she went on to win the first-ever
women’s marathon at the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles and became the
first person to win Boston as well as ... read more




ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1958
Federal court decides to release poet Ezra Pound from hospital for criminally insane

A federal court rules that Ezra Pound should no longer be held at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital
for the criminally insane in Washington, D.C. Pound had been held for 13 years, following
his arrest in Italy during World War II on charges of treason.
Pound was born in Hailey, Idaho, and ... read more




ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1956
Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco marry

American actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco in a spectacular ceremony
on April 18, 1956. Kelly, the daughter of a former model and a wealthy industrialist,
began acting as a child. After high school, she attended the American Academy for
Dramatic Arts in New ... read more




CHINA
1989
Chinese students protest against government

Thousands of Chinese students continue to take to the streets in Beijing to protest
government policies and issue a call for greater democracy in the communist People’s
Republic of China (PRC). The protests grew until the Chinese government ruthlessly
suppressed them in June ... read more





AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1775
Revere and Dawes warn of British attack

On April 18, 1775, British troops march out of Boston on a mission to confiscate the
American arsenal at Concord and to capture Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and
John Hancock, known to be hiding at Lexington. As the British departed,
Boston Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes ... read more

Waco Siege ends;
Branch Davidian compound burns


1993
April 19







At Mount Carmel in Waco, Texas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launches
a tear-gas assault on the Branch Davidian compound, ending a tense 51-day standoff
between the federal government and an armed religious cult. By the end of the day,
the compound was burned to the ground, and some 80 Branch Davidians,
including 22 children, had perished in the inferno.

On February 28, 1993, agents of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco
and Firearms (ATF) launched a raid against the Branch Davidian compound as part of an
investigation into illegal possession of firearms and explosives by the Christian cult.
As the agents attempted to penetrate the complex, gunfire erupted, beginning an extended
gun battle that left four ATF agents dead and 15 wounded. Six Branch Davidians were
atally wounded, and several more were injured, including David Koresh, the cult’s founder
and leader. After 45 minutes of shooting, the ATF agents withdrew, and a cease-fire was
negotiated over the telephone. The operation, which involved more than 100 ATF agents,
was one of the largest ever mounted by the bureau and resulted in the highest casualties
of any ATF operation.

David Koresh was born Vernon Wayne Howell in Houston, Texas, in 1959. In 1981, he joined
the Branch Davidians, a sect of the Seventh Day Adventist Church founded in 1934 by a
Bulgarian immigrant named Victor Houteff. Koresh, who possessed an exhaustive knowledge
of the Bible, rapidly rose in the hierarchy of the small religious community, eventually
entering into a power struggle with the Davidians’ leader, George Roden




Vernon Wayne Howell aka David Koresh



For a short time, Koresh retreated with his followers to eastern Texas, but in late 1987 he
returned to Mount Carmel with seven armed followers and raided the compound, severely
wounding Roden. Koresh went on trial for attempted murder, but the charge was dropped
after his case was declared a mistrial. By 1990, he was the leader of the Branch Davidians
and legally changed his name to David Koresh, with David representing his status as
head of the biblical House of David, and Koresh standing for the Hebrew name for Cyrus,
the Persian king who allowed the Jews held captive in Babylon to return to Israel.

Koresh took several wives at Mount Carmel and fathered at least 12 children from these
women, several of whom were as young as 12 or 13 when they became pregnant. There
is also evidence that Koresh may have harshly disciplined some of the 100 or so
Branch Davidians living inside the compound, particularly his children. A central aspect
of Koresh’s religious teachings was his assertion that the apocalyptic events predicted in
the Bible’s book of Revelation were imminent, making it necessary, he asserted, for the
Davidians to stockpile weapons and explosives in preparation.

Following the unsuccessful ATF raid, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took over
the situation. A standoff with the Branch Davidians stretched into seven weeks, and little
progress was made in the telephone negotiations, as the Davidians had stockpiled years
of food and other necessities before the raid.

On April 18, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved a tear-gas assault on the compound,
and at approximately 6:00 a.m. on April 19 the Branch Davidians were informed of the
imminent attack and asked to surrender, which they refused to do. A few minutes later,
two FBI combat vehicles began inserting gas into the building and were joined by Bradley
tanks, which fired tear-gas canisters through the compound’s windows. The Branch Davidians,
many with gas masks on, refused to evacuate, and by 11:40 a.m. the last of some
100 tear-gas canisters was fired into the compound. Just after noon, a fire erupted at one
or more locations on the compound, and minutes later nine Davidians fled the rapidly
spreading blaze. Gunfire was reported but ceased as the compound was completely
engulfed by the flames.

Koresh and at least 80 of his followers, including 22 children, died during the federal
government’s second disastrous assault on Mount Carmel. The FBI and the Justice Department
maintained there was conclusive evidence that the Branch Davidian members ignited the
fire, citing an eyewitness account and various forensic data. Of the gunfire reported during
the fire, the government argued that the Davidians were either killing each other as part
of a suicide pact or were killing dissenters who attempted to escape the Koresh-ordered
suicide by fire. Most of the surviving Branch Davidians contested this official position,
as do some critics in the press and elsewhere, whose charges against the ATF and FBI’s
handling of the Waco standoff ranged from incompetence to premeditated murder.
In 1999, the FBI admitted they used tear-gas grenades in the assault, which have been
known to cause fires because of their incendiary properties



ALSO ON THIS DAY




CRIME
1989
Central Park jogger attack shocks New York City

On April 19, 1989, a 28-year-old female investment banker is beaten and sexually
assaulted while jogging in New York City’s Central Park. Five teenagers from Harlem
were wrongly convicted of the crime, which shocked New Yorkers for its randomness
and viciousness and became ... read more



CIVIL WAR
1861
First blood in the Civil War

On April 19, 1861, the first blood of the American Civil War is shed when a secessionist
mob in Baltimore attacks Massachusetts troops bound for Washington, D.C. Four soldiers
and 12 rioters were killed. One week earlier, on April 12, the Civil War began when
Confederate shore ... read more



CRIME
1995
Oklahoma City bombing

Just after 9 a.m. on April 19, 1995, a massive truck bomb explodes outside the
Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The blast collapsed the
north face of the nine-story building, instantly killing more than 100 people and
trapping dozens more in the ... read more






WORLD WAR II
1943
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins

In Warsaw, Poland, Nazi forces attempting to clear out the city’s Jewish ghetto are met
by gunfire from Jewish resistance fighters, and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins.
Shortly after the German occupation of Poland began, the Nazis forced the city’s
Jewish citizens into a ... read more



SPORTS
1897
First Boston Marathon held

On April 19, 1897, John J. McDermott of New York won the first Boston Marathon with a
time of 2:55:10. The Boston Marathon was the brainchild of Boston Athletic Association
member and inaugural U.S. Olympic team manager John Graham,
who was inspired by the ... read more



WORLD WAR I
1919
Discussion of Italian claims begins at Paris peace conference

On April 19, 1919, the Saturday before Easter, tense and complicated negotiations begin at
the Paris peace conference over Italy’s claims to territory in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Italians must somehow be mollified, wrote Britain’s foreign secretary,
Arthur ... read more



VIETNAM WAR
1971
Vietnam Veterans Against the War demonstrate
As a prelude to a massive antiwar protest, Vietnam Veterans Against the War begin a
five-day demonstration in Washington, D.C. The generally peaceful protest, called
Dewey Canyon III in honor of the operation of the same name conducted in Laos,
ended on April 23 with about 1,000 ... read more



U.S. PRESIDENTS
1809
Thomas Jefferson sells indentured servant to newly elected President James Madison

On April 19, 1809, former President Thomas Jefferson writes up a contract for the
sale of an indentured servant named John Freeman to newly sworn-in
President James Madison. Slavery and indentured servitude were major
components of the early American economy.
Enslaved workers ... read more



CRIME
1876
Wyatt Earp dropped from Wichita police force

A Wichita, Kansas, commission votes not to rehire policeman Wyatt Earp after
he beats up a candidate for county sheriff. Born in 1848, Wyatt was one of the
five Earp brothers, some of whom became famous for their participation in the
shootout at the O.K. Corral in 1881. Before ... read more



ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1824
Lord Byron dies in Greece

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, dies in what is now Greece, where he had
traveled to support the Greek struggle for independence from Turkey. Even today,
he is considered a Greek national hero. Byron’s scandalous history, exotic travels,
and flamboyant life made such an ... read more






AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1775
American Revolution begins at Battle of Lexington

April 19, 1775: At about 5 a.m., 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot
leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen
under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the town’s common green.
British Major John Pitcairn ordered the ... read more

Massive oil spill begins
in Gulf of Mexico


2010
April 20






April 20, 2010: An explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig in the
Gulf of Mexico, approximately 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, kills 11 people and triggers
the largest offshore oil spill in American history. The rig had been in the final phases of
drilling an exploratory well for BP, the British oil giant. By the time the well was capped
three months later, an estimated 4.9 million barrels (or around 206 million gallons) of
crude oil had poured into the Gulf.

The disaster began when a surge of natural gas from the well shot up a riser pipe to the
rig’s platform, where it set off a series of explosions and a massive blaze. Of the 126 people
on board the nearly 400-foot-long Deepwater Horizon, 11 workers perished and 17 others
were seriously injured. The fire burned for more than a day before the Deepwater Horizon,
constructed for $350 million in 2001, sank on April 22 in some 5,000 feet of







Before evacuating the Deepwater Horizon, crew members tried unsuccessfully to activate a
safety device called a blowout preventer, which was designed to shut off the flow of oil from
the well in an emergency. Over the next three months, a variety of techniques were tried in
an effort to plug the hemorrhaging well, which was spewing thousands of barrels of oil into
the Gulf each day. Finally, on July 15, BP announced the well had been temporarily capped,
and on September 19, after cement was injected into the well to permanently seal it, the
federal government declared the well dead. By that point, however, oil from the spill had
reached coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, where it would inflict
a heavy toll on the region’s economy, particularly the fishing and tourism industries, and
wildlife. Scientists say the full extent of the environmental damage could take
decades to assess.







In January 2011, a national investigative commission released a report concluding the
Deepwater Horizon disaster was “foreseeable and preventable” and the result of “human error,
engineering mistakes and management failures,” along with ineffective government regulation.
In November 2012, BP agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges brought against it by
the U.S. Justice Department, and pay $4.5 billion in fines. Additionally, the Justice Department
charged two BP managers who supervised testing on the well with manslaughter, and another
company executive with making false statements about the size of the spill.
In July 2015, BP agreed to pay $18.7 billion in fines.





ALSO ON THIS DAY




CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
1971
Supreme Court declares 

desegregation busing constitutional

On April 20, 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously declares busing for the
purposes of desegregation to be constitutional. The decision in
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education settled the constitutional
question and allowed the widespread implementation of busing ... read more



AMERICAN REVOLUTION
1777
New York adopts state constitution

The first New York state constitution is formally adopted by the Convention of
Representatives of the State of New York, meeting in the upstate town of Kingston,
on April 20, 1777. The constitution began by declaring the possibility of
reconciliation between Britain and its ... read more



GREAT BRITAIN
1689
Siege of Derry begins

James II, the former British king, begins a siege of Derry, a Protestant stronghold
in Northern Ireland. In 1688, James II, a Catholic, was deposed by his Protestant
daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, in a bloodless coup known
as the Glorious Revolution. James ... read more



US GOVERNMENT
1871
Ku Klux Act passed by Congress

With passage of the Third Force Act, popularly known as the Ku Klux Act, Congress
authorizes President Ulysses S. Grant to declare martial law, impose heavy penalties
against terrorist organizations and use military force to suppress the
Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Founded in 1865 by a ... read more



INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
1902
Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium

On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie successfully isolate radioactive radium
salts from the mineral pitchblende in their laboratory in Paris. In 1898, the Curies
discovered the existence of the elements radium and polonium in their research
of pitchblende. One year after ... read more



LATIN AMERICA
1980
Fidel Castro announces Mariel Boatlift, 

allowing Cubans to emigrate to U.S.

On April 20, 1980, the Castro regime announces that all Cubans wishing to emigrate
to the U.S. are free to board boats at the port of Mariel west of Havana, launching
the Mariel Boatlift. The first of 125,000 Cuban refugees from Mariel reached Florida
the next day. The boatlift ... read more



WORLD WAR II
1945
Operation Corncob is launched 

while Hitler celebrates his birthday

On April 20, 1945, Allied bombers in Italy begin a three-day attack on the bridges
over the rivers Adige and Brenta to cut off German lines of retreat on the peninsula.
Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler celebrates his 56th birthday as a Gestapo reign of terror
results in the hanging of 20 ... read more



VIETNAM WAR
1971
“Fragging” on the rise 

among U.S. military units

The Pentagon releases figures confirming that fragging incidents are on the rise.
In 1970, 209 such incidents caused the deaths of 34 men; in 1969, 96 such incidents
cost 34 men their lives. Fragging was a slang term used to describe
U.S. military personnel tossing of ... read more



SPORTS
1986
Michael Jordan scores 

63 points in playoff game

On April 20, 1986, the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scores 63 points in an NBA playoff
game against the Boston Celtics, setting a post-season scoring record. Despite Jordan’s
achievement, the Bulls lost to the Celtics in double overtime, 135-131.
Boston swept the three-game ... read more







U.S. PRESIDENTS
1898
President McKinley asks for 

declaration of war against Spain

President William McKinley asks Congress to declare war on Spain on April 20, 1898.
In 1895, Cuba, located less than 100 miles south of the United States, attempted to
overthrow Spanish colonial rule. The rebels received financial assistance from
private U.S. interests and used ... read more



EARLY US
1914
Militia slaughters strikers 

at Ludlow, Colorado

Ending a bitter coal-miners’ strike, Colorado militiamen attack a tent colony of strikers,
killing dozens of men, women and children. When the evictions failed to end the strike,
the Rockefeller interests hired private detectives that attacked the
tent colonies with rifles and ... read more







ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1841
First detective story is published

Edgar Allan Poe’s story, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," first appears in Graham’s Lady’s
and Gentleman’s Magazine. The tale is generally considered to be the first detective story.
The story describes the extraordinary “analytical power” used by
Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin to ... read more



CRIME
1999
Teen gunmen kill 13 at Columbine High School

On April 20, 1999, two teenage gunmen kill 13 people in a shooting spree at
Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, south of Denver. At approximately
11:19 a.m., Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18, dressed in trench coats,
began shooting students outside the school ... read more



1970S
1978
Korean Air Lines jet forced down over Soviet Union

Soviet aircraft force a Korean Air Lines passenger jet to land in the Soviet Union
after the jet veers into Russian airspace. Two people were killed and several
others injured when the jet made a rough landing on a frozen lake about
300 miles south of Murmansk. The jet was on a ... read more



CIVIL WAR
1861
Robert E. Lee resigns from U.S. Army after Virginia secedes from Union

Colonel Robert E. Lee resigns from the United States army two days after he
was offered command of the Union army and three days after his native state,
Virginia, seceded from the Union. Lee opposed secession, but he was a
loyal son of Virginia.
His official resignation was only ... read more



INVENTIONS & SCIENCE
2008
Danica Patrick becomes first woman to win Indy race

On April 20, 2008, 26-year-old Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 at
Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan, making her the first female winner in
IndyCar racing history. Danica Patrick was born on March 25, 1982,
in Beloit, Wisconsin.
She became involved in racing as a young girl ... read more

Legendary musician and megawatt star Prince dies at 57


2016
April 21






On the morning of April 21, 2016, Prince, the polymathic musician who created
more than 30 albums and won seven Grammy Awards over a 40-year career,
is found dead in Paisley Park, his Minnesota home and recording studio.
The cause of death was an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl.
He was 57 years old.

In the hours and days after the news broke, fans around the world mourned his
death with massive memorials. In a statement, President Obama said,
“Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly,
or touched quite so many people with their talent.”

Prince Rogers Nelson was born on June 7, 1958, in Minneapolis, to musicians Mattie Shaw
and John Nelson. As a teenager, Prince played in bands with his friends. In 1978,
when he was 20, he signed his first record contract with Warner Bros., and that same
year released his debut album, For You. Nearly every year after that he released a new album.

Prince’s sixth studio album, Purple Rain, released in 1984, was a high point. The album
spent 24 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, spawned two hit
singles (“When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”), won the Grammy Award for Best Rock
Performance, and sold 13 million copies. The accompanying film of the same name,
which starred Prince in a loosely autobiographical role, won the Academy Award for
Best Original Song Score. Both the album and the film’s success launched Prince
to international stardom

Throughout his career, Prince defied and transcended genre. His music fused elements
of funk, R&B, rock and pop into what later became known as Minneapolis Sound.
Famously, he usually played all of the instruments on his albums himself—including 27
(ranging from piano to electric guitar to finger cymbals) on For You. He also toured
frequently and was known as an especially electrifying live performer.

In the years before his death, Prince had been taking prescription pain medication for
chronic hip pain. It is believed he was struggling with opioid addiction. He still recorded
and performed during this time. His last album, Hit n Run Phase Two,
was released in December 2015.

In October 2016, six months after Prince’s death, Paisley Park opened to the public for tours.
In 2016, Prince’s estate sold more albums than any other artist that year, dead or alive.






ALSO ON THIS DAY



GAY RIGHTS
1966
“Sip-In” takes place at Julius' Bar in New York City

On the afternoon of April 21, 1966, a bar crawl in New York’s West Village leads
to an important early moment in the gay liberation movement. In what will be
dubbed the “Sip-In,” Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell and John Timmons publicly
identify themselves as gay and demand to be ... read more






ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1973
“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” tops the U.S.
pop charts and creates a cultural phenomenon

The yellow ribbon has long been a symbol of support for absent or missing loved
ones. There are some who believe that the tradition of the yellow ribbon dates
back as far as the Civil War era, when a yellow ribbon in a woman’s hair indicated
that she was “taken” by a man who was ... read more



MEXICO
1836
Texas militia routs Mexicans in the Battle of San Jacinto

During the Texan War for Independence, the Texas militia under Sam Houston
launches a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna
along the San Jacinto River. The Mexicans were thoroughly defeated, and hundreds
were taken prisoner, including General Santa ... read more







CHINA
1989
Chinese students protest at Tiananmen Square

Six days after the death of Hu Yaobang, the deposed reform-minded leader of the
Chinese Communist Party, some 100,000 students gather at Beijing’s
Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu and voice their discontent with China’s
authoritative communist government. The next day, an ... read more






ANCIENT ROME
753 B.C.
Rome founded

According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother,
Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as
orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth originated sometime
in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of Rome’s ... read more



WORLD WAR I
1918
German flying ace, “Red Baron,” killed in action

In the well-trafficked skies above the Somme River in France, Baron Manfred von
Richthofen, the notorious German flying ace known as the Red Baron,” is killed by
Allied fire on April 21, 1918. Richthofen, the son of a Prussian nobleman,
switched from the German army to the ... read more






SPORTS
1980
Rosie Ruiz fakes Boston Marathon win

Rosie Ruiz, age 26, finishes first in the women’s division of the Boston Marathon
with a time of 2:31:56 on April 21, 1980. She was rewarded with a medal,
a laurel wreath and a silver bowl; however, eight days later Ruiz is stripped of her
victory after race officials learned ... read more







U.S. PRESIDENTS
1865
Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves D.C.

On April 21, 1865, a train carrying the coffin of assassinated President Abraham
Lincoln leaves Washington, D.C. on its way to Springfield, Illinois, where he would
be buried on May 4. The train carrying Lincoln’s body traveled through 180 cities
and seven states on its way to ... read more



ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1816
Charlotte Brontë born

Charlotte Brontë, the only one of three novelist Brontë sisters to live past age 31,
is born. Brontë, one of six siblings who grew up in a gloomy parsonage in the
remote English village of Haworth, surrounded by the marshy moors of Yorkshire.
Her mother died when she was five ... read more



ART, LITERATURE, AND FILM HISTORY
1895
First movie projector demonstrated in United States

On April 21, 1895, Woodville Latham and his sons, Otway and Gray, demonstrate
their “Panopticon,” the first movie projector developed in the United States.
Although motion pictures had been shown in the United States for several years
using Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope, the films ... read more







NATURAL DISASTERS & ENVIRONMENT
1930
Prisoners left to burn in Ohio fire

A fire at an Ohio prison kills 320 inmates, some of whom burn to death when they
are not unlocked from their cells. It is one of the worst prison disasters in
American history. The Ohio State Penitentiary was built in Columbus in 1834.
Throughout its history, it had a poor ... read more







CIVIL WAR
1863
Union Colonel Abel Streight’s raid into Alabama and Georgia begins

Union Colonel Abel Streight begins a raid into northern Alabama and Georgia with the
goal of cutting the Western and Atlantic Railroad between Chattanooga, Tennessee
and Atlanta. The raid ended when Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest
captured Streight’s entire command ... read more