On This Day in History......

0309 -BC- Origin of Seleucid Era
0245 -BC- Origin of Era of Arsaces
0419 [Etalius] ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1043 Edward the Confessor crowned king of England
1312 2nd council of Vienna
1376 Battle of Navarrete (Najera), English beat France
1559 Spain & France signs 2nd Treaty of Le Cateau-Cambrésis
1582 French van Valois honored as duke of Gelre/earl of Zutphen
1645 English parliament accept Self-Denying Ordinance
1657 English Lord Protector Cromwell refuses crown
1679 Edmund Halley meets Johannes Hevelius in Danzig
1721 Robert Walpole becomes England's 1st Lord of the Treasury
1764 Austrian arch duke Jozef crowned himself Roman Catholic king
1776 Washington receives honorary Ll.D. degree from Harvard College
1783 Sweden & US sign a treaty of Amity & Commerce
1790 Revenue Marine Service (US Coast Guard), created
1848 Thomas Douglas becomes 1st San Francisco public teacher
1856 Gunpowder in church explodes killing 4,000 in Rhodos
1860 Pony Express began between St Joseph MO & Sacramento CA
1864 Skirmish at Okolona AR
1865 Union forces occupy Confederate capital of Richmond VA & Petersburg VA
1865 Battle at Namozine Church VA (Appomattox Campaign)
1868 An Hawaiian surfs on highest wave ever, he rides a 50' tidal wave
1882 Wood block alarm invented, when alarm rang, it dropped 20 wood blocks
1889 Savings Bank of the Order of True Reformers opens in Richmond VA
1893 1st New South Wales vs Queensland F-C game, at Brisbane Exhibition Ground
1908 Frank Gotch wins world heavyweight wrestling championship in 2 hours
1910 Highest mountain in North America, Alaska's Mount McKinley climbed
1911 Harry James Smith' "Mrs Bumsted-Leigh", premieres in NYC
1913 British suffragette Emily Pankhurst sentenced to 3 years in jail
1917 Lenin leaves Switzerland for Petrograd
1918 House of Representatives accepts American Creed written by William Tyler
1919 Austria expels all Habsburgers
1922 Stalin appointed General Secretary of Communist Party
1923 2 "Black Sox" sue White Sox (unsuccessfully) for back salary
1925 Great Britain goes back to gold standard
1925 Netherlands & Belgium sign accord of Westerschelde
1926 2nd flight of a liquid-fueled rocket by Robert Goddard
1926 1st performance of Jean Sibelius' 7th Symphony in C
1926 Italy establishes corp of force in order to break powerful unions
1927 Interstate Commerce Commission transfers Ohio to Eastern time zone
1929 Persia agrees to Litvinov Pact
1930 Ras Tafari becomes Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
1930 Stanley Cup Montréal Canadiens sweep Boston Bruins in 2 games
1933 1st airplane flight over Mount Everest
1933 Then longest North American hockey game requires a 1:44:46 overtime as Maple Leaf Ken Doraty scores to beat Canadiens 1-0
1935 Yasuo Ikenada runs world record marathon (2:26:44)
1936 Al Carr KOs Lew Massey on 1 punch, :07 of the 1st round (shortest boxing bout with gloves)
1941 Churchill warns Stalin of German invasion
1941 Rasjid al-Gailani forms pro-German regime in Iraq
1941 Waltons overture "Scapino", premieres in Chicago
1943 Jan Dieters (leader of illegal CPN) arrested
1944 Supreme Court (Smith vs Allwright) "white primaries" unconstitutional
1944 British dive bombers attack battle cruiser Tirpitz
1945 Hengelo freed from nazi control by Canadian army
1945 Nazi's begin evacuation of camp Buchenwald
1945 US 1st army conquers Hofgeismar
1946 Netherlands-German postal relations resume
1947 "Barefoot Boy with Cheek" opens at Martin Beck NYC for 108 performances
1948 1st US figure skating championships held
1948 Harry Truman signs Marshall Plan ($5B aid to 16 European countries)
1948 US female Figure Skating Championship won by Gretchen Merrill
1948 US male Figure Skating Championship won by Richard Button
1949 KQW-AM in San Francisco CA changes call letters to KCBS
1949 North Atlantic Treaty, pact signed by US, Britain, France & Canada
1949 WLWS (now WCMH) TV channel 4 in Columbus OH (NBC) begins broadcasting
1951 Christopher Fry's "Sleep of Prisoners", premieres in Oxford
1952 Dutch Queen Juliana speaks to US Congress
1954 Don Perry climbs a 20' rope in under 2.8 seconds (AAU record)
1954 "Me & Juliet" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 358 performances
1955 Baltimore Orioles pull their 1st triple play (3-6-2 vs Kansas City Athletics)
1955 Fire in cinema to Sclessin Belgium, kills 39
1955 Louise Suggs wins LPGA Oklahoma City Golf Open
1955 Night express train in Guadalajara derails, killing 300
1956 "Silk Stockings" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 461 performances
1956 Bulgarian vice premier Traitsjo Kostov rehabilitated
1956 German war criminals Hinrichsen/Rühl/Siebens/Viebahn are freed
1957 Samuel Beckett's "Endgame", premieres in London
1957 USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
1958 "Say, Darling" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 332 performances
1958 Fidel Castro's rebels attacked Havana
1960 Earthquake at Havré, Belgium
1961 "Happiest Girl in the World" opens at Martin Beck NYC for 97 performances
1961 Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia is sold to J Schleifer Properties
1962 Jockey Eddie Arcaro retires after 31 years (24,092 races)
1962 Lieutenant General Marshall S Carter, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
1964 Beatles hold the top 6 spots on the Sydney Australia record charts
1964 US & Panamá agree to resume diplomatic relations
1965 1st atomic powered spacecraft (SNAP) launched
1966 Luna 10 orbits Moon
1966 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Venice Ladies Golf Open
1966 Tom Seaver, signs with the Mets for a reported $50,000 bonus
1967 113 East Europeans attending World Amateur hockey championships in Vienna, ask for political asylum
1967 WNYE TV channel 25 in Brooklyn NY (PBS) begins broadcasting
1968 North Vietnam agrees to meet US representatives to set up preliminary peace talks
1970 Miriam Hargrave of England passes her drivers test on 40th try
1974 148 tornadoes are reported over an area covering a dozen states in the east, south & midwest killed approximately 315
1974 Gold hits record $197 an ounce in Paris France
1975 Bobby Fischer stripped of world chess title for refusing to defend
1975 James Rupers kills his family to inherit
1976 Philadelphia Flyers win record tying 20th straight NHL home game
1976 France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1977 Boston Bruin Jean Ratelle scores his 1,000th NHL point
1977 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's 1st meeting with President Jimmy Carter
1977 6th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Kathy Whitworth
1977 Netherlands/Belgium/Luxembourg adopt summer time
1978 50th Academy Awards - "Annie Hall", Rich Dreyfuss & Diane Keaton win
1978 European market & China signs trade agreement
1978 Larry King moves his radio show from Miami FL to Washington DC
1979 Belgium's Martens government forms
1979 Jane M Byrne (D) elected 1st woman mayor of Chicago IL
1980 France performs nuclear test
1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1981 Arnie Boldt of Saskatchewan jumped 6' 8.25", with 1 leg
1981 Race riots in London's Brixton area
1982 Buffalo Sabre Gil Perrault scores his 1,000th NHL point
1982 UN Security Council demands Argentina's withdrawal from Falkland Islands
1983 12th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Amy Alcott
1983 2nd NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Southern California beats Los Angeles Tech 69-67
1984 Soyuz T-11 carries 3 cosmonauts (1 Indian-Rakesh Sharma) to Salyut 7
1984 Bombay beat Delhi on 1st innings to win Ranji Trophy
1984 Guinea suspends constitution after coup
1985 Vic Elliot pocketed 15,780 pool balls in 24 hours in London
1985 French government adopts equal electoral system
1985 Players' Association agrees to expand LCS from 5 to 7 games
1986 Maureen O'Boyle (future host of Current Affair) is raped
1986 US national debt hits $2,000,000,000,000
1987 Bill Elliott sets NASCAR qualifying record of 212.809 mph at Talladega
1987 Chicago Cubs trade Dennis Eckersley to A's for 3 minor leaguers
1987 Duchess of Windsor's jewels auctioned for £31,380,197
1987 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1988 Mario Lemieux wins NHL scoring title, stopping Gretzky's 7 year streak
1988 New Jersey Devils beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4-3 in OT, to clinch their 1st ever playoff spot
1988 17th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Amy Alcott
1988 7th NCAA Women's Basketball Champion Louisiana Tech beat Auburn 56-54
1988 Somalia & Ethiopia sign accord about Ogaden desert
1988 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1989 "Sunrise" a Gannett newspaper begins publishing for the Bronx
1989 51st NCAA Men's Basketball Champion Michigan beats Seton Hall 80-79 (OT)
1989 Mets win 11th consecutive home opener 8-4 over St Louis at Shea Stadium
1991 "Penn & Teller - Refrigerator Tour" opens at Eugene O'Neill NYC
1991 12th Emmy Sports Award presentation
1991 Bo Jackson signs 1-year contract with Chicago White Sox
1991 Thomas Bos skates world record 3 km (3:65.16)
1991 UN Security Council adopts Gulf War truce resolution
1992 1st exhibition game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards-Baltimore Orioles beat New York Mets
1994 13th NCAA Women Basketball Championship North Carolina beats Louisiana Tech 60-59
1994 1st roster of Silver Bullets (all-female pro baseball team) announced
1994 6th Seniors Golf Tradition Ray Floyd
1995 57th NCAA Men's Basketball Champion UCLA Bruins beats Arkansas 89-78
1995 Howard Stern gets in trouble for disparaging remarks about Selena
1996 South Australia grab exciting draw vs Western Australia to win Sheffield Shield
1996 St Francis Fighting Saints scores college baseball run record 71-1
1997 "Dream-Johnny Mercer Musical", opens at Royale NYC for 109 performance
1998 World Ice Dance Figure Skating Championship in Minneapolis MN; Russians Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov win
2000 62nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at RCA Dome Indianapolis
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Missing In Action..........

1965 MORGAN HERSCHEL S. CANDLER NC 02/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV / INJURED ALIVE IN 98
1965 SMITH GEORGE C. ST LOUIS MO NO RADIO CONTACT SEARCH NEGAT
1965 VOHDEN RAYMOND A. SPRINGFIELD NJ 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV / INJURED ALIVE IN 98
1966 LAWS RICHARD LEE SACRAMENTO CA
1968 HARDY JOHN CHARLES TROY MO 04/12/68 REMAINS RECOVERED CACCF/CRASH/NOT AT SEA/AIRCREW/8 YRS USAF
1968 REXROAD RONALD REUEL RANKIN IL
1968 THOMAS JAMES C. SAFFORD AZ
1969 ECKLUND ARTHUR G. PHOENIX AZ
1969 JEFFERSON PERRY H. DENVER CO
1972 CHRISTENSEN ALLEN D. FRANDREAU SD
1972 HENDERSON WILLIAM J. MILWAUKEE WI 03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98
1972 MUREN THOMAS RICHARD LAKEWOOD CA
1972 O'NEIL DOUGLAS L. BAYONNE NJ SOME RECORDS SHOW O'NEILL
1972 WILLIAMS EDWARD W. CLEARWATER FL
1972 ZICH LARRY A. LINCOLN NE

Births which occurred on April 03:

1367 Henry IV Bolingbroke Lincolnshire, King of England (1399-1413)
1438 John III van Egmont [Manke John], viceroy of Holland
1485 Lieven van der Maude [Ammonius] South Netherlands poet
1569 Giovanni Battista Massarengo composer
1593 George Herbert English metaphysical poet (5 Mystical Songs)
1603 William Smith composer
1617 Antimo Liberati composer
1627 Johann Caspar Kerll composer
1649 Joseph-François Salomon composer
1682 Johann Valentin Rathgeber German benedictine/composer
1715 John Hanson Port Tobacco MD, 1st US President under Articles of Confederation
1720 Elia van Vilnius [Elijahu ben Salomo Zalman] Latvian rabbi
1727 Philippe-Lambert-Joseph Spruyt Flemish painter/engraver
1751 Jean-Baptiste Lamoyne composer
1757 Ferenc Verseghy composer
1764 John Abernethy London, surgeon
1783 Washington Irving New York NY, American writer (Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle)
1798 Charles D Wilkes Commander (Union Navy), died in 1877
1812 Louisa Maria Queen of the Belgians (1832-50/wife of Leopold I)
1822 Edward Everett Hale US, clergyman/author (Man without a Country)
1823 William Marcy "Boss" Tweed corrupt NYC political boss
1825 Adolf Rzepko composer
1837 John Burroughs writer/nature enthusiast (Burroughs Medal namesake)
1838 Léon Michel Gambetta French attorney/premier (1881-82)
1842 Ulric Dahlgren Colonel (Union volunteers), died in 1864
1858 Matthew Ricketts 1st Black man elected to Nebraska State Legislature
1859 Reginald De Koven composer
1860 Frederik W van Eeden Dutch utopian writer (Walden)
1866 James B Hertzog South African General/premier (1914-39)
1871 José Juan Tablada Mexican poet (El Florilegio)
1874 Eduardo Sanchez de Fuentes composer
1881 Alcide de Gasperi Italian premier (1945..53)
1881 Margaret MJ "Daisy" Ashford English author (Young Sisters)
1882 Simon Elzinga Dutch educator
1884 Jackie Matthews cricketer (Australia leg-spinner, two hat-tricks 1912)
1885 Harry St John Philby [sheik Abdullah], British explorer
1888 Neville Cardus cricketer (doyen of cricket writers)
1889 Grigoras Dinicu composer
1893 Leslie Howard [Stainer] London England, actor (Ashley Wilkes-Gone With the Wind)
1894 Dooley Wilson Tyler TX, actor (Bill-Beulah, Sam-Casablanca)
1895 Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Firenze (Florence) Italy, composer
1895 Bjarne Brustad composer
1896 Douwe Kalma Dutch literary/leader (Young Frisian Movement)
1898 George Jessel toastmaster general/entertainer (Diary of Young Comic)
1898 Henry R Luce Tengchow China, publisher (Time, Fortune, Life, 1965 Fisher Award)
1899 Cees Lasseur Dutch actor/owner (Hague Comedy)
19-- John Laughlin Memphis TN, actor (White Shadow)
19-- Kuan Yin buddhist/taoist deity
1900 Camille Chamoun President of Lebanon
1902 Henri Garat Paris France, actor (Congress Dances)
1902 Siguringi Eirikur Hjorleifsson composer
1903 Peter Huchel writer
1904 Peter Van Steeden Amsterdam Netherlands, orchestra leader (Break the Bank)
1904 Sally Rand US, actress/ecdysiast/fan dancer (1933 Chicago World Fair)
1904 Iron Eyes Cody Tulsa OK, actor (Black Gold, Ernest Goes to Camp)
1906 Kathleen Tillotson Emeritus Professor of English (Bedford College)
1907 Isaac Deutscher Polish/English historian (Stalin/Trotsky biography)
1911 Harold Watkins Shaw musicologist
1911 Michael Woodruff FRS, surgeon
1911 W R Lee language teacher
1912 Addeke H Boerma Dutch Director-General (FAO)
1912 Bert Bakker Dutch publisher (Free Netherlands)
1913 F H Tate vice-CEO (Tate & Lyle)
1913 George Barati composer
1914 Katherine Stammers Menzies England, doubles tennis player (Wimb 1935)
1915 Paul Touvier war criminal
1916 Herb Caen Sacramento CA, columnist (San Francisco Chronicle)
1916 Robert Jesse Charleston museum Curator
1917 Bill Finegan Newark NJ, (Sauter-Finegan Band, Sat Night Revue)
1917 Tibor Andrasovan composer
1918 Sixten Ehrling Malmö Sweden, conductor (Royal Opera of Stockholm)
1918 Enrique Iturriaga composer
1918 Louis Applebaum composer
1919 Duke of Grafton KG
1920 Stan Freeman Waterbury CT, pianist (Melody Tour)
1921 Harry Landers New York NY, actor (Ted Hoffman-Ben Casey)
1921 Marilyn Maxwell Clarinda IA, actress (Grace-Bus Stop)
1923 Jan Sterling New York NY, actress (1st Monday in October, HS Confidential)
1923 John Smith English large landowner/financier/MP ©
1924 Doris Day Cincinnati OH, "girl next door" actress (Pillow Talk)
1924 Marlon Brando Omaha NE, actor (Superman, Godfather)
1924 Canon A D Caesar Sub Dean (HM Chapels Royal)
1924 Murray Dickie opera singer/director
1925 Tony Benn British minister of technology (1968)
1926 Virgil Grissom Mitchell IN, Lieutenant Colonel USAF/astronaut (Merc 4, Gemini 3)
1926 Andrew Keir actor (Rob Roy, Absolution, Blood Hunt, Catholics)
1927 Eva Székely Hungary, 200 meter backstroke swimmer (Olympics-gold-1952)
1929 Miyoshi Umeki Otaru Hokkaido Japan, actress (Best Supporting Actress Oscar-1957-Sayonara, Mrs Livingston-Courtship of Eddie's Father)
1929 Dennis Farr director (Courtauld Institute Galleries)
1930 Max Frankel journalist (Tables of Id of Organic Compounds)
1930 Helmut Kohl chancellor (Germany, 1982- )
1930 Lawton Chiles (Senator/Governor-Democrat-FL, 1971-89/91- )
1931 Alex Cord Floral Park NY, actor (Jack-WEB, Michael-Airwolf)
1931 Johnny Nicholss soccer star
1932 Janet Bately Professor of English Language (King's College London)
1932 Nourse British lord justice
1933 Robert K Dornan (Representative-Republican-CA, 1977-83, 85- )
1934 Jane Goodall London England, ethologist (studied African chimps)
1934 Jim Parker NFL guard, tackle (Baltimore Colts)
1934 David Jones British reverend/headmaster (Bryanston School)
1934 John Lelliott English contractor/multi-millionaire
1935 Jeffery Bowman CEO (Price Waterhouse Europe)
1937 Simon Brown British high court judge
1937 William Gaunt Leeds England, actor (The Champions)
1937 Sandra Spuzich LPGA golfer
1938 Jeff Barry Brooklyn NY, rock writer (Tell Laura I Love Her)
1938 Philippe Wynne Detroit MI, US soul singer (Spinners, Parliament, Ghetto Child)
1939 Vitaliy Davidov USSR, ice hockey player (Olympics-gold-1964, 68, 72)
1939 Malcolm Thornton MP
1940 Lino Brocka San Jose Philippines, director (Macho Dancer, Jaguar)
1940 R S Burman CEO (Association of British Chambers of Commerce)
1941 Eric Braeden Kiel Germany, actor (Victor Newman-Young & Restless)
1941 Jan Berry Los Angeles CA, rock vocalist (Jan & Dean-Deadman's Curve)
1942 Michael Elliott US, skier (Olympics-1968)
1942 Rick Sylvester parachute ski jumper (world record 3,300')
1942 Billy Joe Royal Valdosta GA, country singer (Down in the Boondocks)
1942 Marsha Mason St Louis MO, actress (Blume in Love, Cinderella Liberty)
1942 Wayne Newton Roanoke VA, singer (Danke Schön)
1943 Jonathan Lynn Bath England, writer/actor (Greedy, Bar Mitzvah Boy)
1944 Tony Orlando New York NY, singer (& Dawn-Tie a Yellow Ribbon)
1944 Barry Pritchard rock guitarist (Fortunes)
1945 Catherine Spaak Boulogne-Billancourt France, actress (Empty Canvas, Hotel, Libertine, Circle of Love)
1945 Richard Manuel rock pianist/vocalist (The Band-Up on Cripple Creek)
1945 Wim J Deetman Dutch minister of education/MP (CDA)
1946 Carlos Salinas de Gortari President (México, 1988-94)
1946 Dee Murray rocker (Elton John Band)
1946 John Virgo British snooker player
1947 Pat[rick] Proft Minneapolis MN, comedy writer (Naked Gun, Airplane)
1948 Garrick Ohlsson Bronxville NY, pianist (International Busoni winner 1969)
1948 Mary Gordon-Watson England, equestrian 3 day event (Olympics-gold-1972)
1948 H C Tomlinson Headmaster (Hereford Cathedral School)
1948 Jaap G de Hoop Scheffer Dutch MP (CDA)
1949 Anne De Salvo Philadelphia PA, actress (Compromosing Positions)
1949 Richard Thompson vocalist/guitarist (Shoot out the Lights)
1949 Jan Keizer Dutch singer (BZN-Rhythm of My Heart)
1949 Lyle Alzado NFLer (Los Angeles Raiders)/actor (Oceans of Fire, Hangfire)
1950 Curtis Stone North Hollywood CA, singer (Highway 101-Cry Cry Cry)
1951 Mel Schacher Owosso MI, bassist (Grand Funk Railroad-Some Kind of Wonderful)
1951 Gwen Welles US actress (Desert Hearts, Nashville)
1953 Huub van der Lubbe Dutch rock singer (Stampei-The Dike)
1955 Mick Mars [Bob Allen Dale] Terra Haute IN, guitarist (Mötley Crüe-Girls Girls)
1955 Aleksandr Nikolayevich Yablontsev Russian Lieutenant-Colonel/cosmonaut
1956 Miguel Bosé Aries Panamá, Spanish singer (Lo Mejor del Año)/actor (El Avaro, Queen Margot)
1957 Charles Jones NBA forward (Houston Rockets)
1958 Alec Baldwin Amityville NY, actor (Joshua-Knots Landing, Beetlejuice)
1959 David Hyde Pierce Saratoga Springs NY, actor (Niles Crane-Fraiser)
1961 Eddie Murphy Brooklyn NY, actor (Saturday Night Live, 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop, Raw)
1961 Melissa Etheridge rock guitarist/vocalist (Come to My Window)
1962 John Griffith rocker (Red Rockers)
1962 Mike Ness rocker (Social Distortion)
1962 Nancy Filteau Swift Current Saskatchawan, 72k judoka (Olympics-96)
1963 Chris Bosio baseball pitcher (Seattle Mariners)
1963 Zakir Khan cricketer (two Tests for Pakistan 1986-89)
1964 Ajay Sharma cricketer (Indian spin all-rounder played one Test 1988)
1965 Laura Bryan Birn actress (Lynne-Young and the Restless)
1966 Bo Orlando NFL safety (San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals)
1966 Shelley Michelle Hollywood CA, actress (Golden Eye)
1967 Brent Gilchrist Moose Jaw, NHL center (Dallas Stars)
1967 Pervis Ellison NBA forward/center (Boston Celtics)
1968 Sebastian Bach [Bierk] Bahamas, rock (Skid Row-18 and Life, I Remember You)
1968 Bernd Karbacher Germany, tennis star
1968 Mike Lansing Rawlins WY, infielder (Montréal Expos)
1969 David Morland North Bay Ontario Canada, golfer (1992 Trafalgar Rookie of Year)
1969 Reid Hayston Hamilton New Zealand, beach volleyball player (Olympics-96)
1969 Rodney Hampton NFL running back (New York Giants)
1970 Keith Franklin WLAF linebacker (Amsterdam Admirals)
1970 Matt Gay WLAF safety (Rhein Fire)
1971 Anthony McClanahan CFL linebacker (Calgary Stampeders)
1971 Kevin Farkas WLAF tackle (Amsterdam Admirals)
1971 Peter Schwab Boston MA, rower (Olympics-1996)
1971 Picabo Street skier (Olympics-gold-94)
1971 Quilvio Veras Santo Domingo Dominican Republic, infielder (Florida Marlins)
1972 Jennie Garth Urbana IL, actress (Kelly Taylor-Beverly Hills 90210)
1972 Sandrine Testud Lyon France, tennis star (1993 Strasbourg)
1973 Greg DeLong NFL tight end (Minnesota Vikings)
1973 Jim Campbell Worchester MA, US hockey forward (Olympics-1994)
1973 Kelly Lochbaum CFL linebacker (British Columbia Lions)
1975 Thomas Hamilton NBA center (Boston Celtics)
1976 Keith Closs NBA center (Los Angeles Clippers)
1977 Veronique De Kock Miss Belgium-Universe (1996)
1979 Esmeralda Gonzales Miss Wyoming Teen-USA (1997)
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Deaths which occurred on April 03:

0033 Christ crucified (according to astronomer Humphreys & Waddington)
0628 Chosroes II emperor of Persia (579..628), murdered by his son
1287 Honorius IV [Giacomo Savelli], Italian Pope (1285-87), dies
1512 Richard Pafraet Dutch printer, dies
1525 Giovanni Rucellai Italian poet (Le Api), dies at 49
1581 Huibert Duifhuis Roman Catholic pastor (Rotterdam/Utrecht), dies
1682 Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Spanish painter, dies
1694 Ferdinand van Apshoven de Jongere Flemish painter, buried at 64
1695 Melchior de Hondecoeter Dutch still life painter, dies at about 58
1769 Gerhard Tersteegen German evangelist/poet (in blood), dies at 71
1797 Nonnosus Madlseder composer, dies at 66
1811 Pieter-Jozef Verhaghen Flemish (court)painter, dies at 83
1822 Friedrich Bertuch writer, dies
1826 Reginald Heber bishop & hymn writer, dies
1838 Francesco Antommarchi Napoleon's physician on St Helena, dies at 57
1849 Juliusz Slowacki Pol poet (Father of the Plague-Patient), dies at 39
1850 Vaclav Jan Krtitel Tomasek organist/pianist/composer, dies at 75
1858 Sigismund Ritter von Neukomm Austrian composer, dies at 79
1862 James Clark Ross Arctic explorer, dies
1868 Franz Adolf Berwald Swedish composer, dies at 71
1876 Henriette Davidis writer, dies
1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Kucken composer, dies at 71
1882 Jesse James outlaw, shot dead at 34, in St Joseph MO by Robert Ford
1884 Carel JCH van Nispen tot Sevenaer Dutch Cath politician, dies at 59
1897 Johannes Brahms German composer/conductor (Hung Dances), dies at 63
1901 Richard D'Oyly Carte promotor (Gilbert & Sullivan operas), dies
1909 Benjamin Johnson Lang composer, dies at 71
1915 Andrew Stoddart cricketer (England captain at turn of century), suicide
1919 Paul Geisler composer, dies at 62
1920 Homer Newton Bartlett composer, dies at 74
1936 Bruno Hauptmann convicted Lindbergh baby killer, executed
1941 André Michelin French tire manufacturer, dies at 88
1941 Pal Teleki-von Szek PM Hungary (1920-21, 39-41), suicide at 61
1942 Albert Siklos composer, dies at 63
1942 Paul Gilson composer, dies at 76
1943 Conrad Veidt German/US actor (Cabinet of Dr Calgary), dies at 50
1945 Joseph Weinheber Austria poet/writer (Vienna Verbatim), dies at 43
1946 Lieutenant General Masaharu Homma (responsible for Bataan Death March), executed
1949 Basil Harwood composer, dies at 89
1950 Carter G Woodson "father of black history", dies in Washington DC at 74
1950 Adolf Wiklund composer, dies at 70
1950 Kurt Julian Weill German composer (Dreigroschenoper), dies at 50
1951 Johannes C Kielstra Dut economist/Governor (Suriname 1933-44), dies at 72
1956 T Kostov Bulgarian vice-premier, executed
1958 Theodor Kramer writer, dies
1960 Anton Pannekoek Dutch astronomer/marxist theorist, dies at 87
1962 Benny "Kid" Paret US welterweight boxer, dies after fight, at 24
1962 Manolis Kalomiris Greek opera composer, dies at 78
1966 Russel Crouse US stagewriter (Life with Father), dies at 73
1969 Rex Evans actor (Frankenstein meets the Wolfman, Zara), dies at 65
1971 Joseph Valachi US gangster, dies at 66
1971 Manfred Bonnington Lee [Ellery Queen], detective writer, dies at 65
1972 Ferde Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé composer (Grand Canyon Suite), dies at 80
1975 Mary Ure actress (Sons & Lovers, Where Eagles Dare), dies at 42
1976 Maurice Johnstone composer, dies at 75
1977 Jack Ryder cricketer (20 Tests for Australia, 1394 runs), dies
1980 Luella Gear actress (Joe & Mabel), dies at 82
1982 Warren Oates actor (East of Eden, Stoney Burke), dies at 53
1982 Herman W Filarski Dutch bridge journalist, dies at 69
1986 Peter Pears English tenor (Death in Venice), dies at 75
1986 Richard Manuel rock pianist/vocalist (Band), dies on 41st birthday
1988 Milton A Caniff US cartoonist (Terry & the Pirates), dies at 81
1989 Norman Woolard actor (Guilty, Saul & David, Medeleine), dies at 79
1990 Sarah Vaughan jazz singer, dies of lung cancer at 66
1990 Katharine Balfour actress (Love Story), dies of ALS at 69
1991 Graham Greene British writer (3rd Man, Our man in Havana), dies at 86
1992 Lloyd "Slim" Andrews actor (Buf Bill in Tomahawk Territory), dies
1992 Margaret Barker actress (Fathers & Son), dies of lung cancer at 83
1993 Alexander Mnouchkine French movie producer (Professional), dies at 83
1993 Dieter Plage German wildlife filmmaker, dies at 57
1993 Eduardo Cabellero Calderon Colombian writer/diplomat, dies at 83
1993 Pinky Lee kiddie host (Pinky Lee Show), dies of heart attack at 85
1994 Betty Furness actress/news consumer reporter (WNBC), dies at 78
1994 Frank G Wells US director (Walt Disney), dies at 62
1994 Jerome Lejeune French geneticist (Syndrome of Down), dies at 67
1994 Pat Harper NYC news anchor (WPIX, WNBC), dies
1995 David Alexander Reginald Herbert writer, dies at 86
1995 Harvey Pennick golfer/teacher, dies at 89
1996 Carl Stokes 1st black mayor of a major US city (Cleveland OH), dies
1996 Christopher John Seward aid worker, dies at 45
1996 Ronald Harmon Brown Secretary of Commerce, dies in an accident at 54
1996 Roosevelt "Booba" Barnes bluesman, dies at 59
1997 Judy Flannery master triathlete, killed by a car at 56

1776 Congress authorizes privateers to attack British vessels

Because it lacked sufficient funds to build a strong navy, the Continental Congress gives privateers permission to attack any and all British ships on this day in 1776.

In a bill signed by John Hancock, its president, and dated April 3, 1776, the Continental Congress issued, “INSTRUCTIONS to the COMMANDERS of Private Ships or vessels of War, which shall have Commissions of Letters of Marque and Reprisal, authorizing them to make Captures of British Vessels and Cargoes.”

“Letters of Marque and Reprisal” were the official documents by which 18th-century governments commissioned private commercial ships, known as privateers, to act on their behalf, attacking ships carrying the flags of enemy nations. Any goods captured by the privateer were divided between the ship’s owner and the government that had issued the letter.

Congress informed American privateers on this day that, “YOU may, by Force of Arms, attack, subdue, and take all Ships and other Vessels belonging to the Inhabitants of Great Britain, on the high seas, or between high-water and low-water Marks, except Ships and Vessels bringing Persons who intend to settle and reside in the United Colonies, or bringing Arms, Ammunition or Warlike Stores to the said Colonies, for the Use of such Inhabitants thereof as are Friends to the American Cause, which you shall suffer to pass unmolested, the Commanders thereof permitting a peaceable Search, and giving satisfactory Information of the Contents of the Ladings, and Destinations of the Voyages.”

The distinction between pirates and privateers was non-existent to those who faced them on the high seas. They behaved in an identical manner, boarding and capturing ships using force if necessary. However, privateers holding “Letters of Marque” were not subject to prosecution by their home nation and, if captured, were treated as prisoners of war instead of criminals by foreign nations.
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1865 Richmond captured

The Rebel capital of Richmond falls to the Union, the most significant sign that the Confederacy is nearing its final days.

For ten months, General Ulysses S. Grant had tried unsuccessfully to infiltrate the city. After Lee made a desperate attack against Fort Stedman along the Union line on March 25, Grant prepared for a major offensive. He struck at Five Forks on April 1, crushing the end of Lee's line southwest of Petersburg. On April 2, the Yankees struck all along the Petersburg line, and the Confederates collapsed.

On the evening of April 2, the Confederate government fled the city with the army right behind. Now, on the morning of April 3, blue-coated troops entered the capital. Richmond was the holy grail of the Union war effort, the object of four years of campaigning. Tens of thousands of Yankee lives were lost trying to get it, and nearly as many Confederate lives lost trying to defend it.

Now, the Yankees came to take possession of their prize. One resident, Mary Fontaine, wrote, "I saw them unfurl a tiny flag, and I sank on my knees, and the bitter, bitter tears came in a torrent." As the Federals rode in, another wrote that the city's black residents were "completely crazed, they danced and shouted, men hugged each other, and women kissed." Among the first forces into the capital were black troopers from the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry, and the next day President Abraham Lincoln visited the city. For the residents of Richmond, these were symbols of a world turned upside down. It was, one reporter noted, "...too awful to remember, if it were possible to be erased, but that cannot be."
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1918 Ferdinand Foch becomes supreme Allied commander

On April 3, 1918, the Allied Supreme War Council formally confers the post of commander in chief on the Western Front to General Ferdinand Foch.

By March 23, 1918, two days after the start of the German army’s great spring offensive near the Somme River and the crucial railway junction at Amiens, France, the Allied mood was black. Paris was being shelled, and there were suggestions that the French government abandon the city. On March 26, French President Raymond Poincare arrived in Douellens to preside over a meeting attended by Alexander Haig and Philippe Petain, the top commanders of the British and French armies; the French prime minister, Georges Clemenceau; Lord Alfred Milner from the British War Cabinet; and Henry Wilson, Britain’s representative on the newly created Supreme War Council.

Unlike Haig, Wilson and Milner both enjoyed the support of British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and both had become convinced that a united Anglo-French command should be created to strengthen Allied military strategy going forward, especially in the face of the powerful German offensive on the Western Front. Upon arriving in Douellens, Wilson had met privately with his friend Ferdinand Foch, a decorated French commander who had returned from relative obscurity on the Italian front (where he had been banished after the Allied failure on the Somme in 1916) to become the chief of the French general staff. At the subsequent meetings at Douellens on March 26, Wilson and Foch persuaded their political superiors, Milner and Clemenceau, that Foch was the logical choice to head a joint Allied command.

The appointment was consolidated at Beauvais on April 3, as Foch was formally invested with control of “the strategic direction” of all the Allied armies, including that of the United States. Some, like Clemenceau, doubted Foch’s mental acuity and distrusted his strong Jesuit faith, but no one questioned his conviction, or his dedication to the pursuit of an Allied victory in World War I. “I shall fight without ceasing,” the newly appointed supreme Allied commander was reported to have said to a group of officers. “I shall fight in front of Amiens. I shall fight in Amiens. I shall fight behind Amiens. I shall fight all the time.”

For his part, David Lloyd George defended the decision to name an Allied generalissimo as a matter of necessity. In a statement issued on April 9, the prime minister held that “I have always felt that we are losing value and efficiency in the Allied Armies through lack of coordination and concentration. We have sustained many disasters already through that, and we shall encounter more unless this defect in our machinery is put right.”
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1942 Japanese launch major offensive against Bataan

On this day in 1942, the Japanese infantry stage a major offensive against Allied troops in Bataan, the peninsula guarding Manila Bay of the Philippine Islands.

The invasion of the Japanese 14th Army, which began in December 1941 and was led by General Masaharu Homma, had already forced General Douglas MacArthur's troops from Manila, the Philippine capital, into Bataan, in part because of poor strategizing on MacArthur's part.

By March, after MacArthur had left for Australia on President Roosevelt's orders and been replaced by Major General Edward P. King Jr., the American Luzon Force and its Filipino allies were half-starved and suffering from malnutrition, malaria, beriberi, dysentery, and hookworm.

Homma, helped by reinforcements and an increase in artillery and aircraft activity, took advantage of the U.S. and Filipinos' weakened condition. The Japanese attack signaled the beginning of the end and would result, six days later, in the surrender of the largest number of U.S. troops in U.S. military history.
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1969 Nixon administration will "Vietnamize" the war

Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States is moving to "Vietnamize" the war as rapidly as possible. By this, he meant that the responsibility for the fighting would be gradually transferred to the South Vietnamese as they became more combat capable. However, Laird emphasized that it would not serve the United States' purpose to discuss troop withdrawals while the North Vietnamese continued to conduct offensive operations in South Vietnam. Despite Laird's protestations to the contrary, Nixon's "Vietnamization" program, as he would announce it in June, did include a series of scheduled U.S. troop withdrawals, the first of the war.

Also on this date: U.S. military headquarters in Saigon announce that combat deaths for the last week of March have pushed the total number of Americans killed during eight years of U.S. involvement in Vietnam to 33,641. This was 12 more deaths than during the Korean War. By the end of the war, 47,244 Americans had been killed in action in Vietnam. An additional 10,446 died as a result of non-hostile causes like disease and accidents.
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1972 Nixon orders response to North Vietnamese invasion

The United States prepares hundreds of B-52s and fighter-bombers for possible air strikes to blunt the recently launched North Vietnamese invasion. The aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk was sent from the Philippines to join the carriers already off the coast of Vietnam and provide additional air support.

This attack was the opening move of the North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive (later called the "Easter Offensive"), a massive invasion by North Vietnamese forces designed to strike the blow that would win them the war. The attacking force included 14 infantry divisions and 26 separate regiments, with more than 120,000 troops and approximately 1,200 tanks and other armored vehicles. The main North Vietnamese objectives, in addition to Quang Tri in the north, were Kontum in the Central Highlands, and An Loc farther to the south.

North Vietnam had a number of reasons for launching the offensive: impressing the communist world and its own people with its determination; capitalizing on U.S. antiwar sentiment and possibly hurting President Richard Nixon's chances for re-election; proving that "Vietnamization" was a failure; damaging the South Vietnamese forces and government stability; gaining as much territory as possible before a possible truce; and accelerating negotiations on their own terms.

Initially, the South Vietnamese defenders were almost overwhelmed, particularly in the northernmost provinces, where they abandoned their positions in Quang Tri and fled south in the face of the enemy onslaught. At Kontum and An Loc, the South Vietnamese were more successful in defending against the attacks, but only after weeks of bitter fighting. Although the defenders suffered heavy casualties, they managed to hold their own with the aid of U.S. advisors and American airpower. Fighting continued all over South Vietnam into the summer months, but eventually the South Vietnamese forces prevailed against the invaders and retook Quang Tri in September. With the communist invasion blunted, President Nixon declared that the South Vietnamese victory proved the viability of his Vietnamization program, instituted in 1969 to increase the combat capability of the South Vietnamese armed forces.