Today in History - May 2

Today is Friday, May 2, the 123rd day of 2008. There are 243 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

One hundred years ago, on May 2, 1908, the original version of the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," with music by Albert Von Tilzer and lyrics by Jack Norworth, was copyrighted by Von Tilzer's York Music Co.

On this date:

In 1670, the Hudson Bay Company was chartered by England's King Charles II.

In 1863, Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was accidentally wounded by his own men at Chancellorsville, Va.; he died eight days later.

In 1890, the Oklahoma Territory was organized.

In 1936, "Peter and the Wolf," a symphonic tale for children by Sergei Prokofiev, had its world premiere in Moscow.

In 1945, the Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin, and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.

In 1957, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, the controversial Republican senator from Wisconsin, died at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

In 1957, crime boss Frank Costello narrowly survived an attempt on his life in New York; the alleged gunman, Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, was acquitted at trial after Costello refused to identify him as the shooter.

In 1960, Caryl Chessman, who became a best-selling author while on death row for kidnapping, robbery and sexual offenses, was executed at San Quentin Prison in California.

In 1965, Intelsat 1, also known as the Early Bird satellite, was first used to transmit television pictures across the Atlantic.

In 1972, after serving 48 years as head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover died in Washington at age 77.

Ten years ago: In separate radio addresses, President Clinton and congressional Republicans lambasted the Internal Revenue Service and promised more reforms to prevent future abuses by the agency. Real Quiet won the Kentucky Derby.

Five years ago: A federal court struck down most of the new campaign finance law's ban on the use of large corporate and union contributions by political parties. (However, the Supreme Court later ruled that rooting out corruption, or even the appearance of it, justified limitations on the free speech and free spending of contributors, candidates and political parties.) India and Pakistan agreed to hold talks on settling a half-century of disputes that had drawn them into three wars.

One year ago: In a defeat for anti-war Democrats, Congress failed to override President Bush's veto of legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Bush declared al-Qaida "public enemy No. 1 in Iraq."

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Today in History - May 1

Today is Thursday, May 1, the 122nd day of 2008. There are 244 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey gave the command, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley," as an American naval force destroyed a Spanish squadron in Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.

On this date:

In 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.

In 1786, Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro" premiered in Vienna.

In 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition opened to the public in Chicago.

In 1931, New York's 102-story Empire State Building was dedicated.

In 1945, a day after Adolf Hitler committed suicide, Adm. Karl Doenitz effectively became sole leader of the Third Reich with the suicide of Hitler's propaganda minister, Josef Goebbels.

In 1960, the Soviet Union shot down an American U-2 reconnaissance plane near Sverdlovsk and captured its pilot, Francis Gary Powers.

In 1963, James W. Whittaker became the first American to conquer Mount Everest as he and a Sherpa guide reached the summit.

In 1967, Elvis Presley married Priscilla Beaulieu in Las Vegas. (They divorced in 1973.)

In 1978, Ernest Morial was inaugurated as the first black mayor of New Orleans.

In 1982, the 1982 World's Fair opened in Knoxville, Tenn.

Ten years ago: Eldridge Cleaver, the fiery Black Panther leader who later renounced his past and became a Republican, died in Pomona, Calif., at age 62. Former Rwandan Prime Minister Jean Kambanda pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the 1994 genocide of more than half a million Tutsis. (Kambanda was later sentenced to life in prison.)

Five years ago: President Bush, flying aboard an S-3B Viking, landed on the deck of the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the Southern California coast. With a banner strung across the bridge of the ship proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," the president declared major combat in Iraq over, but also said "difficult work" remained ahead. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake killed 177 people in Turkey.

One year ago: In only his second veto, President Bush rejected legislation to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq in a showdown with Congress over whether the war should end or escalate. Thousands of people protested across the country to demand a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

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Today in History - April 30

Today is Wednesday, April 30, the 121st day of 2008. There are 245 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 30, 1945, as Russian troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun.

On this date:

In 1789, George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million.

In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union.

In 1948, the charter of the Organization of American States was signed in Bogota, Colombia.

In 1958, the American Association of Retired Persons (later simply AARP) was founded in Washington, D.C., by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus.

In 1958, Britain's Life Peerages Act 1958 allowed women to become members of the House of Lords.

In 1968, New York City police forcibly removed student demonstrators occupying five buildings at Columbia University.

In 1970, President Nixon announced the U.S. was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest.

In 1973, President Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, along with Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean.

In 1988, Gen. Manuel Noriega, waving a machete, vowed at a rally to keep fighting U.S. efforts to oust him as Panama's military ruler.

Ten years ago: President Clinton questioned the conduct of Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr and dismissed Republican challenges to his own character as "high level static." United and Delta airlines formed an alliance that would control one-third of all U.S. passenger seats. A man set himself on fire and shot himself to death on a Los Angeles area freeway in a scene captured on live television.

Five years ago: International mediators presented Israeli and Palestinian leaders with a new Middle East "road map," a U.S.-backed blueprint for ending 31 months of violence and establishing a Palestinian state. Mahmoud Abbas took office as Palestinian prime minister. The U.S. Navy withdrew from its disputed Vieques bombing range in Puerto Rico, prompting celebrations by islanders.

One year ago: A British judge sentenced five al-Qaida-linked men, all British citizens, to life in prison for plotting to attack London targets, including a nightclub, power plants and shopping mall, with bombs. An Israeli government probe faulted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for what it called "very severe failures" in Israel's war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Actor Tom Poston died in Los Angeles at age 85.

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Today in History - April 26

Today is Saturday, April 26, the 117th day of 2008. There are 249 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 26, 1607, English colonists went ashore at present-day Cape Henry, Va., on an expedition to establish the first permanent English settlement in the Western Hemisphere. (They later settled at Jamestown.)

On this date:

In 1785, American naturalist and artist John James Audubon was born in present-day Haiti.

In 1865, John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln, was surrounded by federal troops near Bowling Green, Va., and killed.

In 1937, planes from Nazi Germany raided the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War.

In 1945, Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, the head of France's Vichy government during World War II, was arrested.

In 1964, the African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.

In 1968, the United States exploded beneath the Nevada desert a 1.3 megaton nuclear device called "Boxcar."

In 1970, the Stephen Sondheim musical "Company" opened at the Alvin Theatre in New York.

In 1986, the world's worst nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union.

In 1993, Conan O'Brien was named to succeed David Letterman as host of NBC's "Late Night" program.

In 2000, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean signed the nation's first bill allowing same-sex couples to form civil unions.

Ten years ago: Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera, a leading human rights activist in Guatemala, was bludgeoned to death two days after the public release of a report he had compiled on atrocities during Guatemala's 36-year civil war.

Five years ago: A Soyuz rocket carrying American astronaut Edward Lu and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko blasted off for the international space station. Actor Charlton Heston, diagnosed with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, made his last appearance as president of the National Rifle Association during a convention in Orlando, Fla., where he briefly thanked the membership.

One year ago: The Senate joined the House in clearing legislation calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq to begin by Oct. 1, 2007, with a goal of a complete pullout six months later. (President Bush vetoed the measure.) Eight Democratic presidential hopefuls gathered in Orangeburg, S.C., for their first debate of the 2008 campaign, during which they heaped criticism on President Bush's Iraq policy. Former White House aide and movie industry lobbyist Jack Valenti died in Washington at age 85.


Source: AP

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Today in History - April 25

Today is Friday, April 25, the 116th day of 2008. There are 250 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 25, 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany's defenses.

On this date:
In 1507, German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller used the term "America" on a world map to refer to the huge land mass in the Western Hemisphere, in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.

In 1792, highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first person under French law to be executed by the guillotine.

In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

In 1898, the United States formally declared war on Spain.

In 1901, New York Gov. Benjamin Barker Odell Jr. signed an automobile registration bill which imposed a 15 mph speed limit on highways.

In 1908, broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow was born in Polecat Creek, N.C.

In 1915, during World War I, Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war.

In 1945, delegates from some 50 countries met in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.

In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.

In 1983, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov invited Samantha Smith to visit his country after receiving a letter in which the Manchester, Maine, schoolgirl expressed fears about nuclear war.

Ten years ago: Whitewater prosecutors questioned First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on videotape about her work as a private lawyer for the failed savings and loan at the center of the investigation.

Five years ago: The Pentagon announced that Army Secretary Thomas White, whose tenure as civilian chief of the military's largest service was marked by tensions with his boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, was leaving office. Georgia lawmakers voted to scrap the Dixie cross from the state's flag.

One year ago: Brushing off a presidential veto threat, the House passed, 218-208, a $124.2 billion supplemental spending bill ordering U.S. troops to begin coming home from Iraq in the fall of 2007. Seven people were killed by a tornado in Maverick County on the Texas-Mexico border. The Dow Jones industrial average topped 13,000 for the first time, ending the day at 13,089.89. Rosie O'Donnell announced she was leaving the ABC talk show "The View" in June.

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Today in History - April 24

Today is Thursday, April 24, the 115th day of 2008. There are 251 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 24, 1916, some 1,600 Irish nationalists launched the Easter Rising by seizing several key sites in Dublin, Ireland. (The rising was put down by British forces almost a week later.)

On this date:

In 1792, the national anthem of France, "La Marseillaise," was composed by Captain Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.

In 1800, Congress approved a bill establishing the Library of Congress.

In 1877, federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans, ending the North's post-Civil War rule in the South.

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States after rejecting America's ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.

In 1915, the Ottoman Empire began the brutal mass deportation of Armenians during World War I.

In 1953, British statesman Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth ll.

In 1970, the People's Republic of China launched its first satellite, which kept transmitting a song, "The East is Red."

In 1980, the United States launched an unsuccessful attempt to free the American hostages in Iran, a mission that resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen.

In 1986, Wallis, the Duchess of Windsor, for whom King Edward VIII had given up the British throne, died in Paris.

In 1988, Greek cycling champion Kanellos Kanellopoulos pedaled the human-powered aircraft "Daedalus 88" over the Aegean Sea for nearly four hours.

Ten years ago: After a month of confrontation, Russian lawmakers caved in to President Boris Yeltsin, approving the acting prime minister, 35-year-old Sergei Kiriyenko, as premier. (Kiriyenko was fired just four months later.) In Edinboro, Pa., science teacher John Gillette was shot to death at a middle school graduation dance; the gunman, 14-year-old Andrew Wurst, later pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

Five years ago: U.S. forces in Iraq took custody of Tariq Aziz, the former Iraqi deputy prime minister. China shut down a Beijing hospital as the global death toll from SARS surpassed 260. In Red Lion, Pa., 14-year-old James Sheets shot and killed principal Eugene Segro inside a crowded junior high cafeteria, then killed himself.

One year ago: In a harsh exchange, Vice President Dick Cheney accused Democratic leader Harry Reid of personally pursuing a defeatist strategy in Iraq to win votes at home _ a charge Reid dismissed as President Bush's "attack dog" lashing out. European astronomers announced they had found a potentially habitable planet outside the solar system. Warren Avis, the founder of Avis Rent A Car, died in Ann Arbor, Mich., at age 92.

Thought for Today: "I know of no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution." _ Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. President (1822-1885).

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Today in History - April 23

Today is Wednesday, April 23, the 114th day of 2008. There are 252 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
April 23, 1564, is believed to be the birthdate of English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare; he died 52 years later, also on April 23.

On this date:
In 1789, President-elect George Washington moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House, in New York.

In 1791, James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, was born in Franklin County, Pa.

In 1896, the Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen was publicly demonstrated in New York City.

In 1940, about 200 people died in the Rhythm Night Club Fire in Natchez, Miss.

In 1958, the film noir thriller "Touch of Evil," starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Orson Welles, who also directed, was released.

In 1968, student protesters began occupying buildings on the campus of Columbia University in New York; police put down the protests a week later.

In 1968, the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form the United Methodist Church.

In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.)

In 1985, the Coca-Cola Company announced it was changing the secret flavor formula for Coke. (Negative public reaction forced the company to resume selling the original version).

In 1988, a federal ban on smoking during domestic airline flights of two hours or less went into effect.

Ten years ago: James Earl Ray, the ex-convict who'd confessed to assassinating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 and then insisted he'd been framed, died at a Nashville, Tenn., hospital at age 70.

Five years ago: Global health officials warned travelers to avoid Beijing and Toronto, where they might get the SARS virus and export it to new locations. U.S. negotiators met with North Korean and Chinese representatives in Beijing for the first three-way meeting by the governments since the Korean War. American Airlines reported a billion-dollar first-quarter loss.

One year ago: Boris Yeltsin, the first freely elected Russian president, died in Moscow at age 76. Congressional Democratic leaders agreed on legislation requiring the first U.S. combat troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by Oct. 1, 2007, with a goal of a complete pullout six months later; President Bush pledged to veto such a measure. Classes at Virginia Tech resumed a week after the killings of 32 victims by a suicidal gunman. Journalist and author David Halberstam died in a car crash in Menlo Park, Calif., at age 73.

Thought for Today: "...We are such stuff/ As dreams are made on, and our little life/ Is rounded with a sleep." _ William Shakespeare (1564-1616), from "The Tempest."

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Today in History - April 22

Today is Tuesday, April 22, the 113th day of 2008. There are 253 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims.

On this date:
In 1509, Henry VIII became king of England following the death of his father, Henry the VII.
In 1864, Congress authorized the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on coins.
In 1938, 45 workers were killed in a coal mine explosion at Keen Mountain in Buchanan County, Va.
In 1944, during World War II, U.S. forces began invading Japanese-held New Guinea with amphibious landings at Hollandia and Aitape.
In 1954, the publicly televised sessions of the Senate Army-McCarthy hearings began.
In 1964, President Johnson opened the New York World's Fair.
In 1970, millions of Americans concerned about the environment observed the first "Earth Day."

In 1983, the West German news magazine Stern announced the discovery of 60 volumes of personal diaries purportedly written by Adolf Hitler. However, the diaries turned out to be a hoax.
In 1994, Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, died at a New York hospital four days after suffering a stroke; he was 81.
In 2000, in a dramatic pre-dawn raid, armed immigration agents seized Elian Gonzalez from his relatives' home in Miami; Elian was reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.

Ten years ago: A young woman charged along with her high school sweetheart with murdering their newborn at a Delaware motel pleaded guilty to manslaughter. (Amy Grossberg ended up serving nearly two years of a 2 1/2-year sentence; Brian Peterson served 1 1/2 years of a two-year sentence.)

Five years ago: President Bush announced he would nominate Alan Greenspan for a fifth term as Federal Reserve chairman. Songwriter Felice Bryant, who, with her late husband, Boudleaux, wrote "Bye Bye Love" and other Everly Brothers hits, died in Gatlinburg, Tenn., at age 77.

One year ago: In the first round of the French presidential election, conservative Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist rival Segolene Royal received enough votes to advance to a runoff, which Sarkozy won.

Thought for Today: "Always remember others may hate you but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself." _ Richard M. Nixon, 37th president of the United States (1913-1994).

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Today in History - April 21

Today is Monday, April 21, the 112th day of 2008. There are 254 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 21, 1918, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German ace known as the "Red Baron," was killed in action during World War I.

On this date:
In 1649, the Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly.
In 1789, John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States.
In 1816, Charlotte Bronte, author of "Jane Eyre," was born in Thornton, England.
In 1836, an army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring Texas independence.
In 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Conn., at age 74.

In 1940, the quiz show that asked the "$64 question," "Take It or Leave It," premiered on CBS Radio.
In 1960, Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro.
In 1972, Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored the surface of the moon.
In 1975, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned after 10 years in office.
In 1977, the musical play "Annie," based on the "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip, opened on Broadway.

Ten years ago: Astronomers announced in Washington they had discovered possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star 220 light-years away, the clearest evidence to date of worlds forming beyond our solar system.

Five years ago: Military officials in Iraq announced the arrest of Muhammad Hamza al-Zubaydi, a key figure in the bloody suppression of the Shiite Muslim uprising of 1991. State-run media in China reported the government had dismissed Beijing's mayor following the disclosure of a steep increase in SARS cases in the Chinese capital. Scott Peterson pleaded innocent in the deaths of his pregnant wife and unborn son. Robert Cheruiyot became the 12th Kenyan in 13 years to win the Boston Marathon; Svetlana Zakharova of Russia won the women's race. Jazz singer Nina Simone died in France at age 70.

One year ago: The Fallujah, Iraq, city council chairman, Sami Abdul-Amir al-Jumaili, a critic of al-Qaida who had taken the job after his three predecessors were assassinated, was himself killed by attackers in a passing car. American billionaire Charles Simonyi returned to Earth from a dream voyage to the international space station, riding a Russian capsule to a soft landing in Kazakhstan. Professional sailor Reid Stowe and his girlfriend, Soanya Ahmad, set off from from North Hoboken, N.J., on a 1,000-day, nonstop globe-girdling cruise. (Ahmad abandoned the cruise in February 2008, citing seasickness.)

Thought for Today: "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." _ Mark Twain (1835-1910).

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Today in History - April 18

Today is Friday, April 18, the 109th day of 2008. There are 257 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 18, 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires; estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000 and 6,000.

On this date:
In 1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Mass., warning American colonists that the British were coming.
In 1907, San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel opened, a year to the day after the earthquake.
In 1934, the first laundromat (called a "washateria") opened, in Fort Worth, Texas.
In 1942, an air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
In 1945, famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, 44, was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa.
In 1946, the League of Nations went out of business.
In 1978, the Senate approved the Panama Canal Treaty, providing for the complete turnover of control of the waterway to Panama on the last day of 1999.
In 1980, the independent nation of Zimbabwe, formerly Zimbabwe Rhodesia, came into being.

In 1983, 63 people, including 17 Americans, were killed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, by a suicide bomber.
In 1988, an Israeli court convicted John Demjanjuk, a retired auto worker from Cleveland, of committing war crimes at the Treblinka death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. (However, Israel's Supreme Court later overturned Demjanjuk's conviction.)

Ten years ago: Despite fierce internal dissent, Northern Ireland's main Protestant party, the Ulster Unionists, approved a peace agreement. The remains of Pol Pot were cremated, three days after the Khmer Rouge leader blamed for the killings of up to 2 million Cambodians died at age 73. Former North Carolina Gov. and U.S. Sen. Terry Sanford died in Durham at age 80.

Five years ago: Iraqi police arrested Saddam Hussein's former finance minister (Hikmat Mizban Ibrahim al-Azzawi) and turned him over to the U.S. Marines. Scott Peterson was arrested in San Diego in the death of his wife, Laci, who was eight months pregnant when she vanished on Christmas Eve. (Peterson was later convicted and sentenced to death.)

One year ago: The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, upheld the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act that Congress passed and President Bush signed into law in 2003. Four large bombs exploded in mainly Shiite locations of Baghdad, killing at least 183 people. Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox faced the minimum 27 batters in a 6-0 no-hit victory over the Texas Rangers. Curtis Strange and Hubert Green joined the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Thought for Today: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." _ Earl Weaver, baseball manager.

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Today in History - April 17

Today is Thursday, April 17, the 108th day of 2008. There are 258 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 17, 1961, about 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro.
In 1521, Martin Luther went before the Diet of Worms to face charges stemming from his religious writings. (He was later declared an outlaw by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.)
In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazano reached present-day New York Harbor.
In 1790, American statesman Benjamin Franklin died in Philadelphia at age 84.
In 1861, the Virginia State Convention voted to secede from the Union.
In 1941, Yugoslavia surrendered to Germany in World War II.
In 1964, Ford Motor Co. unveiled its new Mustang model at the New York World's Fair.
In 1969, a jury in Los Angeles convicted Sirhan Sirhan of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

In 1969, Czechoslovak Communist Party First Secretary Alexander Dubcek was deposed.
In 1970, the astronauts of Apollo 13 splashed down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft.
In 1990, the Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, the civil rights activist and top aide to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., died in Atlanta at age 64.

Ten years ago: A Thai military team collected evidence from the body of Pol Pot, former chief of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge guerrillas, to lay to rest doubts that one of the century's worst tyrants was truly dead. Photographer Linda McCartney, wife of rock legend Paul McCartney, died in Tucson, Ariz., at age 56.

Five years ago: U.S. special forces in Baghdad captured Barzan Ibrahim Hasan, a half brother of and adviser to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The U.S. government awarded Bechtel Corp. a major contract for helping rebuild Iraq's power, water and sewage systems. Diet Dr. Robert C. Atkins died in New York at age 72. Songwriter Earl King died in New Orleans at age 69. Sir J. Paul Getty Jr., the reclusive third son of American oilman J. Paul Getty, died in London at age 70.

One year ago: A day after the Virginia Tech massacre, President Bush visited the campus, where he told students and teachers at a somber convocation that the nation was praying for them and "there's a power in these prayers." In Rome, a U.S. soldier went on trial in absentia for the shooting death of Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari at an Iraqi checkpoint in March 2005. (However, a court later threw out the proceedings against Spc. Mario Lozano, saying Italy had no jurisdiction.) Actress Kitty Carlisle Hart died in New York at age 96.

Thought for Today: "A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past; he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future." _ Sydney J. Harris, American journalist (1917-1986).

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Today in History - April 16

Today is Wednesday, April 16, the 107th day of 2008. There are 259 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

One year ago, on April 16, 2007, in the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech before taking his own life.

On this date:

In 1789, President-elect Washington left Mount Vernon, Va., for his inauguration in New York.

In 1862, President Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia.

In 1879, Saint Bernadette, who'd described seeing visions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes, died in Nevers, France.

In 1912, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

In 1917, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returned to Russia after years of exile.

In 1935, the radio comedy program "Fibber McGee and Molly" premiered on the NBC Blue Network.

In 1947, the French ship Grandcamp blew up at the harbor in Texas City, Texas; another ship, the High Flyer, exploded the following day. The blasts and resulting fires killed nearly 600 people.

In 1947, financier and presidential confidant Bernard Baruch said in a speech at the South Carolina statehouse: "Let us not be deceived _ we are today in the midst of a cold war."

In 1972, Apollo 16 blasted off on a voyage to the moon.

In 1996, Britain's Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah, the Duchess of York, announced they were in the process of getting a divorce.

Ten years ago: Paula Jones announced she would ask an appeals court to reinstate her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton after it was thrown out by a federal judge. Tornadoes claimed 11 lives in Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Five years ago: The Bush administration lowered the terror alert level from orange to yellow, saying the end of heavy fighting in Iraq has diminished the threat of terrorism in the United States. During a visit to a fighter jet factory in St. Louis, President Bush called for lifting economic sanctions against Iraq as commanders of both the U.S. military and the reconstruction effort prepared to move into the country. Michael Jordan played his last NBA game with the Washington Wizards, who lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 107-87.

One year ago: Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya won the Boston Marathon for the third time; Russia's Lidiya Grigoryeva captured the women's race. Carrie Underwood's dark hit "Before He Cheats" won video of the year, female video and best video director at the fan-voted CMT Music Awards.

Thought for Today: "Only the vanquished remember history." _ Marshall McLuhan, Canadian communications theorist (1911-1980).

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Today in History - April 15

Today is Tuesday, April 15, the 106th day of 2008. There are 260 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
In the early hours of April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. Some 1,500 people died.

On this date:
In 1817, the first American school for the deaf opened in Hartford, Conn.

In 1850, the city of San Francisco was incorporated.

In 1861, three days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, S.C., President Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called out Union troops.

In 1865, President Lincoln died, several hours after being shot at Ford's Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson became the nation's 17th president.

In 1945, during World War II, British and Canadian troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson, baseball's first black major league player, made his official debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day. (The Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves, 5-3.)

In 1959, Cuban leader Fidel Castro arrived in Washington to begin a goodwill tour of the United States.

In 1986, the United States launched an air raid against Libya in response to the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin on April 5; Libya said 37 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

In 1989, 96 people died in a crush of soccer fans at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England.

In 1990, actress Greta Garbo died in New York at age 84.

Ten years ago: Pol Pot, the notorious leader of the Khmer Rouge, died at age 73, evading prosecution for the deaths of 2 million Cambodians.

Five years ago: Looters and arsonists ransacked Iraq's National Library, as well as Iraq's principal Islamic library. In the Netherlands, Volkert van der Graaf, the killer of politician Pim Fortuyn, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Umpire Laz Diaz was attacked by a fan during a game between the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox; the fan, Eric Dybas, was later sentenced to six months in jail and 30 months probation.

One year ago: Riot police beat and detained dozens of anti-Kremlin demonstrators in St. Petersburg, Russia, on a second day of protests against the government of President Vladimir Putin. Brant Parker, who illustrated "The Wizard of Id" comic strip, died in Lynchburg, Va., at age 86, just days after the passing of the strip's writer, Johnny Hart.

Thought for Today: "Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." _ Bernard Shaw, Irish-born playwright (1856-1950).

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Today in History - April 14

Today is Monday, April 14, the 105th day of 2008. There are 261 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth while attending the comedy "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington. (Lincoln died the following morning.)

On this date:

In 1775, the first American society for the abolition of slavery was formed in Philadelphia.

In 1828, the first edition of Noah Webster's "American Dictionary of the English Language" was published.

In 1890, the First International Conference of American States met in Washington, where delegates agreed to form the International Union of American Republics, a forerunner of the Organization of American States.

In 1902, James Cash Penney opened his first store, called The Golden Rule, in Kemmerer, Wyo.

In 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and began sinking.

In 1931, King Alfonso XIII of Spain went into exile, and the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed.

In 1939, the John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath" was first published.

In 1968, the gay-themed play "The Boys in the Band," by Matt Crowley, opened in New York.

In 1981, the first test flight of America's first operational space shuttle, the Columbia, ended successfully with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1986, Americans got first word of a U.S. air raid on Libya. (Because of the time difference, it was the early morning of April 15 when the attack occurred.)

Ten years ago: Despite international pleas for leniency, the state of Virginia executed Angel Francisco Breard, a Paraguayan convicted of murder. President Clinton moderated a town meeting on race with an all-star panel of sports figures. The Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for public service; author Philip Roth received the Pulitzer fiction award, his first, for "American Pastoral."

Five years ago: Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit fell with unexpectedly light resistance, the last Iraqi city to succumb to overpowering U.S.-led ground and air forces. U.S. commandos in Baghdad captured Abul Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985. (Abbas died in March 2004 while in U.S. custody.) Four Islamic militants were convicted in a deadly bombing outside the U.S. Consulate in Pakistan. Assailants armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and a handgun opened fire at John McDonogh High School in New Orleans, killing one youth and wounding three others.

One year ago: Riot police beat and detained protesters as thousands defied an official ban and attempted to stage a rally in Moscow against Russian President Vladimir Putin's government. A car bomb exploded near one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines in Karbala, Iraq, killing 47 people. Don Ho, who'd entertained tourists to Waikiki for decades, died in Honolulu, Hawaii, at age 76.

Thought for Today: "If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference." _ Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).

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Today in History - April 13

Today is Sunday, April 13, the 104th day of 2008. There are 262 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 13, 1958, American pianist Van Cliburn, 23, won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

On this date:

In 1598, King Henry IV of France endorsed the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to the Protestant Huguenots. (The edict was abrogated in 1685 by King Louis the XIV, who declared France entirely Catholic again.)

In 1742, Handel's "Messiah" was first performed publicly, in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1743, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was born in Shadwell, Va.

In 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York. (The original museum opened in 1872.)

In 1943, President Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial.

In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for "Lilies of the Field."

In 1965, 16-year-old Lawrence Wallace Bradford Jr. was appointed by New York Republican Jacob Javits to be the first black page of the U.S. Senate.

In 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)

In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in the first recorded papal visit of its kind to a Jewish house of worship.

In 1992, the Great Chicago Flood took place as the city's century-old tunnel system and adjacent basements filled with water from the Chicago River.

Ten years ago: NationsBank and BankAmerica announced a merger which created Bank of America, while Banc One and First Chicago NBD said they would unite. A 500-pound steel joint fell from the upper level of New York's Yankee Stadium, crashing onto seats below. (No fans were inside the park at the time).

Five years ago: U.S.-led forces announced the capture of Watban Ibrahim Hasan, a half brother of and adviser to Saddam Hussein. After three weeks of captivity, seven U.S. POW's, including Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson, were released by Iraqi troops near Tikrit, Iraq. Mike Weir became the first Canadian to win the Masters after the first sudden-death playoff in 13 years.

One year ago: Iraq's parliament met in an extraordinary session on a Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, and declared it would not bow to terrorism; a bouquet of red roses and a white lily sat in the place of a lawmaker killed in a parliament dining hall suicide bombing.

Thought for Today: "I cannot give you the formula for success but I can give you the formula for failure _ which is: Try to please everybody." _ Herbert Bayard Swope, American journalist (1882-1958).

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Today in History - April 12

Today is Saturday, April 12, the 103rd day of 2008. There are 263 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

On this date:

In 1606, England's King James I decreed the design of the original Union Flag, which combined the flags of England and Scotland.

In 1776, North Carolina's Fourth Provincial Congress authorized the colony's delegates to the Continental Congress to support independence from Britain.

In 1877, the catcher's mask was first used in a baseball game, by James Tyng of Harvard in a game against the Lynn Live Oaks.

In 1908, fire devastated the city of Chelsea, Mass.

In 1934, "Tender Is the Night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald was first published in book form by Charles Scribner's Sons after being serialized in Scribner's Magazine.

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.

In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing.

In 1981, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on its first test flight.

In 1983, Chicagoans went to the polls to elect Harold Washington the city's first black mayor.

Ten years ago: Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams appealed to IRA supporters to accept Northern Ireland's compromise peace accord. Golfer Mark O'Meara won the Masters title in Augusta, Ga.

Five years ago: Finance officials from the seven richest industrial countries, meeting in Washington, agreed to support a new U.N. Security Council resolution as part of a global effort to rebuild Iraq and promised to begin talks on reducing Iraq's massive foreign debt burden. Rescued POW Jessica Lynch returned to the United States after treatment at a U.S. military hospital in Germany. Women's activists took their fight against the all-male Augusta National as close as they could get to the Masters tournament.

One year ago: A suicide bomber breached security in Iraq's parliament and blew himself up in the dining hall; a Sunni parliament member was killed. CBS fired Don Imus from his radio program for insulting the Rutgers women's basketball team on the air. In the evening, Imus met with team members at the New Jersey governor's mansion in Princeton; Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who was en route to that meeting, was seriously injured when his official vehicle, an SUV, crashed.

Thought for Today: "Eternal truths will be neither true nor eternal unless they have fresh meaning for every new social situation." _ President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945).

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Today in History - April 11

Today is Friday, April 11, the 102nd day of 2008. There are 264 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 11, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which included the Fair Housing Act, a week after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

On this date:

In 1689, William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.

In 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated as Emperor of the French and was banished to the island of Elba.

In 1898, as tensions with Spain continued to rise, President McKinley asked Congress to authorize military intervention in Cuba.

In 1899, the treaty ending the Spanish-American War was declared in effect.

In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the notorious Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in Germany.

In 1951, President Truman relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his commands in the Far East.

In 1970, Apollo 13 blasted off on its ill-fated mission to the moon. (The astronauts managed to return safely).

In 1979, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control.

In 1988, the hijackers of a Kuwait Airways jetliner killed a second hostage, dumping his body onto the ground in Larnaca, Cyprus.

In 1988, "The Last Emperor" won best picture and best director (Bernardo Bertolucci) at the 60th annual Academy Awards ceremony; Cher won best actress for "Moonstruck," Michael Douglas best actor for "Wall Street."

Ten years ago: The executive committee of the Ulster Union Party voted 55-23 to support the Northern Ireland peace accord and its leader, David Trimble, who had outmaneuvered rebels in his ranks.

Five years ago: Ten of the main suspects in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole escaped from prison in Yemen. American troops took the northern Iraqi city of Mosul without a fight. In Cuba, three men convicted of hijacking a passenger ferry the previous week were executed by firing squad, a swift response by Fidel Castro's government to a recent string of hijackings to the United States.

One year ago: North Carolina's top prosecutor dropped all charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party, saying the athletes were innocent victims of a "tragic rush to accuse." MSNBC announced it was dropping its simulcast of the "Imus in the Morning" radio program, responding to growing outrage about host Don Imus' racial slur against the Rutgers women's basketball team. (CBS Radio followed suit the next day.) Death claimed author Kurt Vonnegut in New York at age 84 and actor Roscoe Lee Browne in Los Angeles at age 81.

Thought for Today: "We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." Jonathan Swift, English satirist (1667-1745).


Source: The Associated Press

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Today in History - April 10

Today is Thursday, April 10, the 101st day of 2008. There are 265 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.

On this date:

In 1790, President Washington signed into law the first United States Patent Act.

In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was incorporated.

In 1925, the novel "The Great Gatsby," by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first published.

In 1932, German president Paul Von Hindenburg was re-elected in a runoff, with Adolf Hitler coming in second.

In 1957, Egypt reopened the Suez Canal to all shipping traffic. (The canal had been closed due to wreckage resulting from the Suez Crisis.)

In 1957, John Osborne's play "The Entertainer," starring Laurence Olivier, opened in London.

In 1963, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Thresher sank during deep-diving tests off Cape Cod, Mass., in a disaster that claimed 129 lives.

In 1972, the United States and the Soviet Union joined some 70 nations in signing an agreement banning biological warfare.

In 1978, Arkady Shevchenko, a high-ranking Soviet citizen employed by the United Nations, sought political asylum in the United States.

In 1992, comedian Sam Kinison, 38, was killed in a car crash outside Needles, Calif.

Ten years ago: The Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators reached a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.

Five years ago: Iraqi television aired videotaped greetings from President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The House passed a bill creating a national Amber Alert system and strengthening child pornography laws. A fire in a boarding school for the deaf in southern Russia killed 30 children. Eva Narcissus Boyd, the singer formerly known as "Little Eva," died in Kinston, N.C.

One year ago: A woman wearing an explosives vest strapped underneath her black robe blew herself up in the midst of 200 Iraqi police recruits in Muqdadiyah, killing 16. Two Russian cosmonauts and U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi arrived at the international space station. DNA tests showed that former boyfriend Larry Birkhead was the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby.

Thought for Today: "Take from me the hope that I can change the future, and you will send me mad." _ Israel Zangwill, English dramatist (1864-1926).

Source: The Associated Press

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