This Day in History

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY March 27 1912 Japanese cherry trees planted along the Potomac March 27, 1912: In Washington, D.C., Helen Taft, wife of President William Taft, and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, plant two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River, near the Jefferson Memorial. The event was held in celebration of a gift, b... read more 19th Century 1836 Mexican army executes 417 Texas revolutionaries at Goliad American Revolution 1775 Thomas Jefferson elected to the Continental Congress Art, Literature, and Film History 1973 Marlon Brando declines Best Actor Oscar 1979 Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton are married Civil War 1865 Lincoln, Sherman and Grant plan final stages of Civil War Crime 1905 Fingerprint evidence is used to solve a British murder case European History 1958 Khrushchev becomes Soviet premier Inventions & Science 1952 Kiichiro Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Motor Corporation, dies 1998 FDA approves Viagra Natural Disasters & Environment 1964 Earthquake rocks Alaska 1977 Jumbo jets collide at Canary Islands airport Sports 1939 "March Madness" crowns its first men's NCAA Champion U.S. Presidents 1829 President Jackson appoints John Eaton as secretary of war and starts scandal

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY March 28 1979 Nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island At 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979, the worst accident in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from the open valve into adjoining buildings, and the core beg... read more American Revolution 1774 British Parliament adopts the Coercive Acts in response to the Boston Tea Party Art, Literature, and Film History 1958 W.C. Handy—the “Father of the Blues”—dies Civil War 1862 Union forces halt Confederates at Battle of Glorieta Pass Crime 1814 Funeral held for the man behind the guillotine 2006 Duke lacrosse team suspended following sexual assault allegations Hispanic History 1939 Spanish Civil War ends Sports 1984 Baltimore Colts move to Indianapolis U.S. Presidents 1834 Congress censures President Jackson 1969 President Eisenhower dies World War I 1915 First American citizen killed during WWI

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY March 29

1973 U.S. withdraws from Vietnam Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam as Hanoi frees the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America's direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end. In Saigon, some 7,000 U.S. Department ... read more

Civil War 1865 Appomattox, the final campaign in the Civil War, begins

Cold War 1951 Rosenbergs convicted of espionage

Crime 1951 The "Mad Bomber" strikes in New York

Inventions & Science 1958 Keeling Curve, showing increase of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, is discovered

Space Exploration 1974 U.S. space probe, Mariner, visits Mercury

Sports 1982 Freshman Michael Jordan hits winning shot to give North Carolina NCAA title

U.S. Presidents 1929 Herbert Hoover has telephone installed in Oval Office

Vietnam War 1971 Lt. William Calley found guilty of My Lai murders

World War I 1917 Swedish prime minister resigns over WWI policy

World War II 1945 Gen. George Patton takes Frankfurt

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY March 30 1981 President Reagan shot On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by a deranged drifter named John Hinckley Jr. The president had just finished addressing a labor meeting at the Washington Hilton Hotel and was walking with his entourage to his limousine when Hinckley, ... read more 19th Century 1867 U.S. purchase of Alaska ridiculed as "Seward's Folly" American Revolution 1775 King George endorses New England Restraining Act Art, Literature, and Film History 1955 James Wong Howe becomes first Asian American to win an Academy Award 1974 John Denver has his first #1 hit with "Sunshine On My Shoulders" Cold War 1948 Henry Wallace criticizes Truman's Cold War policies France 1814 Napoleon's forces defeated in Paris Inventions & Science 2009 President Obama announces auto industry shakeup Natural Disasters & Environment 1980 Oil workers drown in North Sea US Politics 1855 Violence disrupts first Kansas election United States Constitution 1870 15th Amendment adopted Vietnam War 1965 Bomb explodes outside U.S. Embassy in Saigon

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY March 31 1889 Eiffel Tower opens On March 31, 1889, the Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower's designer, and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard, a handful of other dignitaries, and 200 construction workers. In 1889, to honor of the centenary of the French Revolutio... read more American Revolution 1776 Abigail Adams urges husband to "remember the ladies" Art, Literature, and Film History 1943 "Oklahoma!" premieres on Broadway 1999 "The Matrix" released in theaters Cold War 1991 Warsaw Pact ends Crime 1999 Evidence of murder is uncovered in New Mexico Japan 1854 Treaty of Kanagawa signed with Japan Religion 1492 Spain announces it will expel all Jews 1959 Dalai Lama begins exile World War I 1905 The First Moroccan Crisis

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 1 1700 April Fools' tradition popularized On April 1, 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools' Day by playing practical jokes on each other. Although the day, also called All Fools' Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery. Some historian... read more American Revolution 1789 First U.S. House of Representatives elects speaker Art, Literature, and Film History 1816 Jane Austen declines royal writing advice 1963 Soap operas "General Hospital" and "The Doctors" premiere 1984 Marvin Gaye is shot and killed by his own father Colonial America 1621 The Pilgrim-Wampanoag peace treaty Crime 1924 Hitler sentenced for his role in Beer Hall Putsch Great Britain 1918 RAF founded Inventions & Science 1993 The "Polish Prince" killed in plane crash Natural Disasters & Environment 1946 Alaskan earthquake triggers massive tsunami Sports 1972 First MLB players' strike begins 1985 Villanova wins NCAA basketball title in stunning upset U.S. Presidents 1970 President Nixon signs legislation banning cigarette ads on TV and radio World War II 1945 U.S. troops land on Okinawa

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 2 2005 Pope John Paul II dies On April 2, 2005, John Paul II, history's most well-traveled pope and the first non-Italian to hold the position since the 16th century, dies at his home in the Vatican. Six days later, two million people packed Vatican City for his funeral, said to be one of the biggest in history. John Paul II was... read more Art, Literature, and Film History 1805 Hans Christian Andersen is born Crime 1992 Mob boss John Gotti convicted of murder Exploration 1513 Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain Latin America 1982 Argentina invades Falklands Natural Disasters & Environment 1979 Anthrax poisoning kills 62 in Russia Women's History 1917 Jeannette Rankin, first woman elected to U.S. Congress, assumes office World War I 1917 President Wilson asks for declaration of war

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 03 1860 Pony Express debuts On April 3, 1860, the first Pony Express mail, traveling by horse and rider relay teams, simultaneously leaves St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. Ten days later, on April 13, the westbound rider and mail packet completed the approximately 1,800-mile journey and arrived in Sacramento, ... read more 19th Century 1817 Texas Ranger “Big Foot” Wallace born American Revolution 1776 Congress authorizes privateers to attack British vessels Art, Literature, and Film History 1948 "The Louisiana Hayride" radio program premieres on KWKH-AM Shreveport 1955 ACLU says it will contest obscenity of "Howl" 1978 "Annie Hall" beats out "Star Wars" for Best Picture Civil War 1865 Confederate capital of Richmond is captured Crime 1882 Jesse James is murdered 1936 Bruno Hauptmann, convicted of kidnapping Lindbergh’s son, executed 1996 Unabomber arrested Natural Disasters & Environment 1996 U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown, killed in plane crash U.S. Presidents 1948 President Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan Vietnam War 1969 Nixon administration vows to "Vietnamize" the war

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 04 1968 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated Just after 6 p.m. on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. is fatally shot while standing on the balcony outside his second-story room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The civil rights leader was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers’ strike and was on his way to dinner when a bulle... read more 1970s 1973 World Trade Center, then the world's tallest building, opens in New York City 21st Century 2007 Radio host Don Imus makes offensive remarks about Rutgers' women's basketball team American Revolution 1776 General George Washington begins march to New York Art, Literature, and Film History 1928 Maya Angelou is born 1960 "Ben-Hur" wins 11 Academy Awards 2013 Movie critic Roger Ebert dies Cold War 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) pact signed Early 20th Century U.S. 1933 Dirigible crash kills 73 in New Jersey Inventions & Science 1975 Microsoft founded Sports 1974 Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth's home run record U.S. Presidents 1841 President Harrison dies—32 days into office 1865 President Lincoln dreams about his assassination Vietnam War 1967 Martin Luther King Jr. speaks out against the war World War I 1918 Second Battle of the Somme ends 1918 Germans and Allies step up operations near Somme World War II 1884 Isoroku Yamamoto, Japan’s mastermind of the Pearl Harbor attack, is born

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 05

1994 Grunge rock icon Kurt Cobain dies by suicide Kurt Cobain of the band Nirvana dies by suicide. His body was discovered inside his home in Seattle, Washington, three days later. He was 27 years old.Modern rock icon Kurt Cobain dies by suicide on April 5, 1994. His body was discovered inside his home in Seattle, Washington, three days later by Ga... read more

1970s 1976 Business magnate and famed aviator Howard Hughes dies

American Revolution 1774 Benjamin Franklin publishes “An Open Letter to Lord North”

Art, Literature, and Film History 1859 Charles Darwin sends first three chapters of “The Origin of Species” to his publisher 1968 James Brown calms Boston following the King assassination

Civil War 1862 Siege of Yorktown begins

Cold War 1951 Rosenbergs sentenced to death for spying

European History 1955 Winston Churchill retires as prime minister

Native American History 1614 Pocahontas marries John Rolfe

Sports 1984 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks NBA all-time scoring record

U.S. Presidents 1792 George Washington exercises first presidential veto 1933 FDR creates Civilian Conservation Corps

Women’s History 1992 Abortion rights advocates march on Washington

World War I 1918 First stage of German spring offensive ends

World War II 1945 Yugoslavian partisan leader Tito signs “friendship treaty” with Soviet Union

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 06

1917 The United States officially enters World War I April 6, 1917: Two days after the U.S. Senate voted 82 to 6 to declare war against Germany, the U.S. House of Representatives endorses the declaration by a vote of 373 to 50, and America formally enters World War I. When World War I erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for th... read more

Art, Literature, and Film History 1895 Writer Oscar Wilde arrested in England 1968 “2001: A Space Odyssey” released in theaters

Civil War 1862 Battle of Shiloh begins

Crime 1970 Sam Sheppard, the inspiration for “The Fugitive,” dies

Exploration 1909 Robert Peary almost reaches the North Pole

Native American History 1832 Black Hawk War begins

Religion 1830 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established

Sports 1896 First modern Olympic Games

U.S. Presidents 1841 John Tyler is inaugurated as 10th president

World War II 1941 Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 07 1994 Violence erupts in Rwanda, foreshadowing genocide On April 7, 1994, violence fuels the launch of what would become the worst episode of genocide since World War II: the massacre of an estimated 500,000 to 1 million innocent civilian Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Following the first wave of massacres, Rwandan forces manage to discourage international i... read more 1950s 1953 Sweden’s Dag Hammarskjöld elected U.N. head 1960s 1963 Tito is made president of Yugoslavia for life 19th Century 1805 Lewis and Clark depart Fort Mandan Art, Literature, and Film History 1970 John Wayne wins Best Actor Oscar Civil War 1862 Battle of Shiloh concludes Cold War 1954 President Eisenhower delivers Cold War “domino theory” speech Sports 1979 Astros' Ken Forsch pitches no-hitter, matching feat by his brother U.S. Presidents 1961 JFK lobbies Congress to help save historic sites in Egypt World War II 1945 Japanese battleship Yamato is sunk by Allied forces

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 08 1974 Hank Aaron breaks Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s legendary record of 714 homers. A crowd of 53,775 people, the largest in the history of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, was with Aaron that night to cheer when he hit a 4th inning pitch off the Los... read more 1990s 1990 18-year-old Ryan White, national symbol of the AIDS crisis, dies African History 1953 Jomo Kenyatta jailed for Mau Mau uprising in Kenya 2009 Somali pirates hijack Maersk Alabama ship Art, Literature, and Film History 1990 "Twin Peaks" premieres on ABC 1994 Grunge icon Kurt Cobain is found dead three days after his suicide Crime 2005 Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph agrees to plead guilty Great Depression 1935 Works Progress Administration established by Congress as part of FDR’s “New Deal” Religion 563 Buddhists celebrate birth of Gautama Buddha Space Exploration 1993 Astronaut Ellen Ochoa becomes the first Hispanic woman in space Sports 1975 Frank Robinson becomes first Black manager in MLB 1989 Pitcher Jim Abbott, born without right hand, makes MLB debut U.S. Presidents 1935 FDR signs Emergency Relief Appropriation Act Vietnam War 1972 North Vietnamese forces open a third front Women’s History 2013 Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister, dies World War I 1904 Britain and France sign Entente Cordiale World War II 1944 Russians attack Germans in drive to expel them from Crimea

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 09 1865 Robert E. Lee surrenders In Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 Confederate troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War. Forced to abandon the Confederate capital of Richmond, blocked from joining the surviving Confed... read more Art, Literature, and Film History 1859 Mark Twain receives steamboat pilot’s license 1939 Marian Anderson sings on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 1962 Rita Moreno becomes the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar Black History 1947 The Journey of Reconciliation—considered the first Freedom Ride—sets out from D.C. Cold War 1987 U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz condemns Soviet spying Crime 1881 Billy the Kid convicted of murder 1984 Man attempts to kill wife for money using car bomb European History 2005 Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wed Middle Eastern History 2003 Baghdad falls to U.S. forces Space Exploration 1959 NASA introduces America’s first astronauts Vietnam War 1969 “Chicago Eight” plead not guilty to federal conspiracy charges World War II 1940 Germany invades Norway and Denmark 1942 Troops surrender in Bataan, Philippines, in largest-ever U.S. surrender 1945 Anti-Nazi theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is hanged

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 10 1866 ASPCA is founded On April 10, 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh, 54. In 1863, Bergh had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to a diplomatic post at the Russian court of Czar Alexander II. It was t... read more American Revolution 1778 Revolutionary War Commander John Paul Jones sets out to raid British ships Art, Literature, and Film History 1906 O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” is published 1953 First color 3-D film opens 1970 Paul McCartney announces the breakup of the Beatles Civil War 1865 After surrendering to Union, General Lee gives final address to troops Cold War 1971 U.S. table tennis team visits communist China Crime 1834 A torture chamber is uncovered by arson Latin American History 1919 Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata assassinated in Mexico Natural Disasters & Environment 1963 Atomic submarine USS Thresher sinks in the Atlantic, killing all on board Sports 1961 South African Gary Player becomes first international Masters champion 1975 Lee Elder becomes first Black golfer to play in Masters World War II 1941 Croatia declares independence 1942 Bataan Death March begins

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 11 1814 Napoleon abdicates the throne and is exiled to Elba On April 11, 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France and one of the greatest military leaders in history, abdicates the throne, and, in the Treaty of Fontainebleau, is banished to the Mediterranean island of Elba. The future emperor was born in Ajaccio, Corsica, on August 15, 1769. After attendi... read more 19th Century 1803 French Foreign Minister Talleyrand offers to sell Louisiana Territory to U.S. 21st Century 2015 Barack Obama and Raúl Castro meet in Panama African History 1979 Ugandan dictator Idi Amin overthrown Art, Literature, and Film History 1931 Dorothy Parker resigns as drama critic for "The New Yorker" 1961 Bob Dylan plays his first major gig in New York City 1988 Cher wins Best Actress Oscar for “Moonstruck” Crime 1870 Lord Muncaster of Britain is kidnapped in Greece, nearly causing war Inventions & Science 1888 Henry Ford marries Clara Jane Bryant Space Exploration 1970 Apollo 13 launches to the moon Sports 1921 First live sporting event broadcast on radio 2004 Phil Mickelson wins first major at Masters U.S. Presidents 1951 President Truman relieves General MacArthur of duties in Korea 1977 President Carter hosts White House Easter egg roll World War II 1945 The U.S. army liberates Buchenwald concentration camp

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 12 1861 Civil War begins as Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter Four of the bloodiest years in American history begin when Confederate shore batteries under General P.G.T. Beauregard open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861. During the next 34 hours, 50 Confederate guns and mortars launched more than 4,000 round... read more American Revolution 1770 British repeal hated Townshend Act in the Colonies Art, Literature, and Film History 1954 Bill Haley and His Comets record “Rock Around The Clock” Black History 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. is jailed; writes "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" Civil War 1864 Hundreds of Union soldiers killed in Fort Pillow Massacre Crime 1633 Galileo is accused of heresy Space Exploration 1961 Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space 1981 The space shuttle Columbia is launched for the first time U.S. Presidents 1945 FDR dies Vietnam War 1975 U.S. Embassy in Cambodia evacuated World War I 1917 Canadians capture Vimy Ridge in northern France

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 13 1873 The Colfax Massacre An armed group of white supremacists attacks a courthouse guarded by a mostly-Black militia in the town of Colfax, Louisiana on April 13, 1873. A bloodbath ensues, as the militia surrenders and the white supremacists carry out a day-long campaign of terr... read more 21st Century 2017 U.S. military drops "Mother of All Bombs" on ISIS tunnel complex Art, Literature, and Film History 1742 Handel’s “Messiah" premieres in Dublin 1870 Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City 1964 Sidney Poitier wins Best Actor Oscar for "Lilies of the Field” Asian History 1919 British and Gurkha troops massacre hundreds of unarmed demonstrators in Amritsar Massacre Civil War 1861 Union forces surrender at Fort Sumter Crime 1984 Serial killer Christopher Wilder dies by suicide Inventions & Science 1928 First nonstop flight from Europe to North America 2009 Former MLB All-star Mark “The Bird” Fidrych dies in truck accident Natural Disasters & Environment 1360 Hail storm kills 1,000 English troops in France Space Exploration 1970 Apollo 13 oxygen tank explodes Sports 1978 Fans toss candy bars onto field, disrupting MLB game 1997 Tiger Woods wins the Masters Tournament for the first time U.S. Presidents 1743 Thomas Jefferson is born World War II 1941 Japan and USSR sign nonaggression pact 1945 Hitler bluffs from bunker as Russians advance and atrocities continue 1990 Soviets admit to Katyn Massacre of World War II

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 14 1865 John Wilkes Booth shoots Abraham Lincoln 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 tyran... read more 1980s 1988 Soviets agree to withdraw from Afghanistan African History 1986 U.S. bombs terrorist and military targets in Libya American Revolution 1775 First American abolition society founded in Philadelphia Art, Literature, and Film History 1828 Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language is printed 1932 Loretta Lynn is born 1969 Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand tie for Best Actress Oscar Cold War 1950 President Truman receives NSC-68 report, calling for “containing” Soviet expansion Great Depression 1935 “Black Sunday" Dust Bowl storm strikes Natural Disasters & Environment 1944 Explosion on cargo ship rocks Bombay, India Sports 1910 Taft becomes first U.S. president to throw out first pitch at MLB game 1960 Montreal Canadiens win fifth consecutive Stanley Cup 1996 Greg Norman blows six-shot Masters lead in epic collapse Vietnam War 1975 Operation "Baby Lift” concludes after flying 2,600 South Vietnamese orphans to the U.S. World War I 1918 American pilots engage in first dogfight over the western front

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 15 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... read more 1990s 1998 Pol Pot, leader of Cambodia’s genocidal government, dies in his sleep Art, Literature, and Film History 1894 Bessie Smith is born in Chattanooga, Tennessee Cold War 1959 Castro visits the United States Crime 1920 The Sacco-Vanzetti case draws national attention Natural Disasters & Environment 1912 Titanic sinks Sports 1947 Jackie Robinson becomes first African American player in Major League Baseball 1997 MLB retires Jackie Robinson's number U.S. Presidents 1865 President Lincoln dies

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 16 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 Virginia Polytechnic ... read more Art, Literature, and Film History 1889 Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin born 2018 Kendrick Lamar becomes the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize Cold War 1947 Bernard Baruch popularizes the term “Cold War” Crime 1881 Western gunslinger, Bat Masterson, fights in last shootout Inventions & Science 1943 Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered 1946 Arthur Chevrolet dies by suicide Natural Disasters & Environment 1947 Fertilizer explosion kills 581 in Texas Space Exploration 1972 Apollo 16 departs for moon World War I 1917 Lenin returns to Russia from exile

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 17 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 A. Lovell, John L. ... read more Art, Literature, and Film History 1960 Eddie Cochran dies, and Gene Vincent is injured, in a UK car accident 2002 "General Hospital" airs 10,000th episode Cold War 1945 Americans seize 1,100 pounds of uranium in effort to prevent Soviets from developing A-bomb 1961 The Bay of Pigs invasion begins 1969 Architect of Czechoslovakia’s Prague Spring resigns Crime 1936 A single horsehair helps solve murder of Nancy Titterton Early U.S. 1790 Benjamin Franklin dies Inventions & Science 1964 Ford Mustang debuts at World’s Fair Natural Disasters & Environment 1815 Indonesian volcano erupts, killing 80,000 Vietnam War 1975 Cambodia falls to the Khmer Rouge World War I 1917 Second Battle of Gaza begins World War II 1941 Yugoslavia surrenders to the Nazis 1942 General Henri Giraud makes his great escape

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 18 1906 The Great San Francisco Earthquake topples buildings, killing thousands 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 miles long, and shock ... read more American Revolution 1775 Revere and Dawes warn of British attack Art, Literature, and Film History 1956 Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco marry 1958 Federal court decides to release poet Ezra Pound from hospital for criminally insane 2012 Dick Clark, host of “American Bandstand” and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” dies Asian History 1989 Chinese students protest against government Exploration 2014 Mt. Everest sees its single deadliest day Middle Eastern History 1983 Suicide bomber destroys U.S. embassy in Beirut Religion 1521 Martin Luther defiant at Diet of Worms Sports 1983 Joan Benoit wins Boston Marathon World War II 1942 Doolittle leads air raid on Tokyo 1945 War correspondent Ernie Pyle killed

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 19 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 outnumbered Patriot... read more 1990s 1993 Waco Siege ends; Branch Davidian compound burns Art, Literature, and Film History 1824 Lord Byron dies in Greece Civil War 1861 First blood in the Civil War Crime 1876 Wyatt Earp dropped from Wichita police force 1989 Central Park jogger attack shocks New York City 1995 Oklahoma City bombing Sports 1897 First Boston Marathon held U.S. Presidents 1809 Thomas Jefferson sells indentured servant to newly elected President James Madison Vietnam War 1971 Vietnam Veterans Against the War demonstrate World War I 1919 Discussion of Italian claims begins at Paris peace conference World War II 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY April 20 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 before moving inside to ... read more 1970s 1978 Korean Air Lines jet forced down over Soviet Union American Revolution 1777 New York adopts state constitution Art, Literature, and Film History 1841 First detective story is published Black History 1971 Supreme Court declares desegregation busing constitutional Civil War 1861 Robert E. Lee resigns from U.S. Army after Virginia secedes from Union Early U.S. 1914 Militia slaughters strikers at Ludlow, Colorado European History 1689 Siege of Derry begins Inventions & Science 1902 Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium 2008 Danica Patrick becomes first woman to win Indy race Latin American History 1980 Fidel Castro announces Mariel Boatlift, allowing Cubans to emigrate to U.S. Natural Disasters & Environment 2010 Massive oil spill begins in Gulf of Mexico Sports 1986 Michael Jordan scores 63 points in playoff game U.S. Government and Politics 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act passed by Congress U.S. Presidents 1898 President McKinley asks for declaration of war against Spain Vietnam War 1971 “Fragging” on the rise among U.S. military units World War II 1945 Operation Corncob is launched while Hitler celebrates his birthday