On This Day in History.....

0648 -BC- Earliest total solar eclipse; chronicled by Greeks
0402 Battle at Pollentia Roman army under Stilicho beats Visigoten
0610 Lailat-ul Qadar, the night the koran descended to Earth
0774 Charles the Great affirms Pippins promise of Quiercy
1106 Fire in Venice
1327 Italian poet Petrarch 1st sets eyes on his beloved Laura
1362 Robber bastion Tard-Venus strikes at Brignais France
1516 A Willaert installed as singer of cardinal Ippolito I d'Este
1634 Heeren XIX asks "to secure Eylands Curaçao"
1652 Cape Colony, the 1st European settlement in South Africa, established by John of Riebeeck
1663 King Charles II signs Carolina Charter
1664 France & Saksen sign alliance
1672 France declares war on Netherlands
1712 Slave revolt in New York
1722 Peter the Great ends tax on men with beards
1724 Duke of Newcastle becomes English minister of Foreign Affairs
1727 Denmark signs Covenant of Hannover
1757 English king George II fires minister William Pitt Sr
1789 1st US Congress begins regular sessions, Federal Hall, New York NY
1815 English militia shoots prisoners, 100's killed
1830 Joseph Smith & 5 others organize Mormon church in Seneca County, New York
1841 Cornerstone laid for 2nd Mormon temple, Nauvoo IL
1848 Jews of Prussia granted equality
1849 Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "Le Prophète", premieres in Paris France
1859 US recognizes Liberal government in México's War of the Reform
1862 Battle of Shiloh, Union defeats Confederacy in SW Tennessee
1865 Battle of Sayler's Creek, 1/3rd of Lee's army cut off
1866 G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) is established
1868 Brigham Young marries his 27th & final wife
1869 1st plastic, Celluloid, patented
1883 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of the Speckled Band" (BG)
1886 City of Vancouver British Columbia Canada incorporated
1886 Declaration of Berlin neutralizes Tonga
1889 George Eastman places Kodak Camera on sale for 1st time
1890 French troops under Captain Archinard occupy Segu, West-Sudan
1893 Andy Bowen & Jack Burke box 7 hours 19 minutes to no decision in St Louis (111 rounds, longest bout in boxing history)
1893 Mormon temple in Salt Lake City dedicated
1896 1st modern Olympic games begin in Athens Greece; American, James Connolly, wins 1st Olympic gold medal in modern history
1900 James J Jeffries KOs Jack Finnegan in 1 for heavyweight boxing title
1903 General railroad strike against "worgwetten" (anti-strike laws)
1906 1st animated cartoon copyrighted
1909 1st credit union established in US
1909 North Pole reached by Americans Robert Peary & Matthew Henson
1912 Electric starter 1st appeared in cars
1916 German parliament OKs unrestricted submarine warfare
1917 US declares war on Germany, enters World War I
1920 French troop attacks Main/Darmstadt/Hanau
1924 4 planes leave Seattle on 1st successful around-the-world flight
1924 Italian fascists receive 65% of vote of parliament
1924 Völkische Block (Nazi's) receives 17.8% of vote in Bayern
1925 1st film shown on an airplane (British Air)
1926 Stanley Cup Montréal Maroons beat Victoria Cougars (WHL), 3 games to 1
1930 1st transcontinental glider tow completed
1930 Hostess Twinkies invented by bakery executive James Dewar
1931 1st Scottsboro (Alabama) trial begins - 9 blacks accused of rape
1931 1st broadcast of "Little Orphan Annie" on NBC-radio
1934 418 Lutheran ministers arrested in Germany
1935 H Levitt sinks 499 basketball free throws, misses & sinks 371 more
1936 Tornado kills 203 & injures 1,800 in Gainesville GA
1936 3rd Golf Masters Championship Horton Smith wins, shooting a 285
1936 ANP begins telex service in Amsterdam
1938 Teflon invented by Roy J Plunkett
1939 US & UK agree on joint control of Canton & Enderbury Islands (Pacific)
1939 Great Britain & Poland sign military pact
1941 Italian-held Addis Ababa capitulates to British & Ethiopian forces
1941 8th Golf Masters Championship Craig Wood wins, shooting a 280
1941 Beginning of 3 day bombardment of Belgrade (17,000 die)
1941 British General Gambier-Parry caught in North Africa
1941 German bombardment on Piraeus (munitions ship explodes)
1943 British & US offensive at Wadi Akarit, South-Tunisia
1943 Lou Jansen, leader of illegal Dutch political party (CPN) arrested
1944 Jewish nursery at Izieu-Ain France overrun by Nazi's
1945 Coevorden freed from Nazi's
1945 Japanese giant battleship Yamato heads to Okinawa
1945 Massive kamikaze-attack on US battle fleet near Okinawa
1945 US marines explore Tsugen Shima near Okinawa
1947 11th Golf Masters Championship Jimmy Demaret wins his 2nd Masters golf tournament, shooting a 281
1947 1st Tony Awards Arthur Miller, David Wayne & Patricia Neal win
1950 John F Dulles becomes advisor to US Secretary of State Dean Acheson
1952 16th Golf Masters Championship Sam Snead wins his 2nd Masters golf tournament, shooting a 286
1954 Montréal Canadiens score 3 goals in 56 seconds in playoff game against Detroit Red Wings
1954 TV Dinner is 1st put on sale by Swanson & Sons
1954 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
1955 "3 for Tonight" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 85 performances
1955 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1955 Yemen failed coup by Abdullah Seif el-Islam
1956 Polish communist Gomulka freed from prison
1957 NYC ends trolley car service
1957 USSR performs nuclear test (atmospheric tests)
1958 Arnold Palmer wins 1st major golf tournament-the Masters
1959 31st Academy Awards "Gigi", Susan Hayward & David Niven win
1964 Egypt & Belgium restore diplomatic relations
1965 Intelsat 1 ("Early Bird") 1st commercial geosynchronous communications satellite
1966 Mihir Sen swims the Palk Strait between Sri Lanka & India
1967 Premier Pompidou forms new French government
1968 94.5% of East German voters approve new socialist constitution
1968 Gunpowder stock at a sporting-goods store explodes, killing 43 (Virginia)
1968 HemisFair 1968 opens in San Antonio TX
1968 Firestone World Tournament of Champions won by Dave Davis
1972 Egypt drops diplomatic relations with Jordan
1973 Yankee Ron Blomberg becomes 1st designated hitter, he walks
1973 Harbor strike in Gent/Antwerp, Belgium
1973 Indies troops invade Sikkim
1973 Roberto Clemente Day, Pirates retire his number
1973 US launches Pioneer 11 to Jupiter & Saturn
1974 200,000 attend rock concert "California Jam"
1974 Yankees 1st home game at Shea Stadium, beat Indians 6-1
1974 Firestone World Tournament of Champions won by Earl Anthony 11/16
1975 Bundy victim Denise Oliverson disappears from Grand Junction CO
1975 Fastest hat trick by a Washington Capital 3 minutes 26 seconds (Stan Gilbertson)
1975 "Rocky Horror Show" closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 45 performances
1975 "The Night That Made America Famous" closes at Barrymore NYC after 75 performances
1976 1st quadraphonic movie track "Ladies & Gentlemen the Rolling Stones"
1977 Judge rules the Beatles 1962 Hamburg album can be released
1977 Kingdome opens, Seattle Mariners 1st game, loses to Angels 7-0
1978 Karnataka beat Uttar Pradesh by inning & 193 to win Ranji Trophy
1979 Rod Stewart & Alana Collins wed
1980 Gordie Howe completes a record 26th season
1980 9th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Donna Caponi Young
1980 Post It Notes are introduced
1981 Yugoslav government sends troops to Kosovo
1982 Columbia returns to Kennedy Space Center from White Sands
1982 Largest crowd ever to see a baseball game in Minnesota 52,279
1983 Washington Capitals 2-New York Islanders 5-Patrick Division Semifinals- Islanders hold 1-0 lead
1984 11th Space Shuttle Mission (41-C)- Challenger 5 is launched; 1st time 11 people in space
1985 Atlantis (OV-104) rollout at Palmdale
1985 Bombay beats Delhi by 90 runs to win the Ranji Trophy final
1985 Sudan suspends constitution after coup under General Swarreddahab
1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1986 Soccer ball juggled non-stop for 14:14 hours
1986 15th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Pat Bradley
1987 Al Campanis appears on Niteline saying blacks may not be equipped to be in baseball management, sparking a racial controversy
1987 Sugar Ray Leonard upsets Marvelous Marvin Hagler
1987 22nd Academy of Country Music Awards Randy Travis & Hank Williams Jr
1988 New Jersey Devils' 1st playoff game; lose to New York Islanders 4-3 (OT) in 1st round
1988 North pole explorer Matthew Henson buried next to Robert Peary in Arlington
1989 Orel Hershiser ends his record 59 consecutive scoreless streak
1991 Former child actor Adam Rich arrested for breaking into a pharmacy
1991 New York-New Jersey Knights 1st home game (Giants Stadium) lose to Frankfurt 27-17
1991 Argentine soocer star Diego Maradona suspended for 15 month by Italian League for testing positive for cocaine use
1991 Subhana, becomes 1st Australian woman to become a Zen teacher
1992 1st game at Camden Field, Baltimore Orioles beat Indians 2-0
1992 Britain Radio Authority licenses Virgin & TV-AM radio licenses
1992 Duke beats Michigan 71-51 for NCCA basketball championship
1992 Voting begins on choice of Elvis postage stamps
1992 54th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Duke beats Michigan 71-51
1992 Microsoft announced Windows 3.1, upgrading Windows 3.0
1992 Oriole Park at Camden Yards opens, Baltimore Orioles beat Cleveland Indians 2-0
1992 Serbian troops begin siege of Sarajevo
1992 US Supreme Court rules a Nebraska farmer was entrapped by postal agents into buying mail-order child pornography
1993 1st test flight of Ilyushin IL-96M (Moscow)
1993 Florida Marlins 1st loss ever (4-2 to Los Angeles Dodgers)
1994 1st scheduled Indians night game at Jacobs Field is rained out
1994 Chuck Jones found guilty of breaking into Marla Maples home
1994 Liberal Supreme Court Justice Blackmun (Roe vs Wade) resigns
1994 Palestinian suicide bomber kills 7 Israelis & himself
1994 Rockwell B-1B Lancers break 11 world speed records
1995 "Having Our Say" opens at Booth Theater NYC for 308 performances
1996 Albert Belle shows off his arm by hitting Sports Illustrated photographer Tony Tomsic in the hand prior to a game
1997 "3 Sisters" closes at Criterion Theater NYC
1997 9th Seniors Golf Tradition Gil Morgan wins
1997 Annika Sorenstam wins LPGA Longs Drugs Challenge
1997 Brad Faxon wins Freeport-McDermott Golf Classic
1997 Progress M-34 Launch (Russia)
1997 Twelve Bridges LPGA Classic
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Missing In Action......

1966 COOK DENNIS P. SANTA BARBARA CA
1966 GATES JAMES W. MER ROUGE LA ON GROUND RADIO CONTACT LOST
1966 LAFAYETTE JOHN W. WATERBURY VT ON GROUND RADIO CONTACT LOST
1967 HEGDAHL DOUGLAS B. CLARK SD 08/05/69 RELEASED ALIVE AND WELL 98
1968 KUSTIGAN MICHAEL T. WORCHESTER MA 40 MI OFF COAST // LISTED AS UA IN 1973 REFNO 2054
1968 PEPPER ANTHONY JOHN RICHMOND VA
1968 TRIMBLE JAMES M. EUREKA CA
1970 ARPIN CLAUDE FRANCE NOT ON OFFICIAL LISTS
1970 BRASSFIELD ANDREW T. SYLVANIA OH
1970 FLYNN SEAN L. DEAD BRITISH TV CREW FOUND REMAINS 05/91
1970 KLINGNER MICHAEL LEE MC COOK NE
1970 STONE DANA DEAD BRITISH TV CREW FOUND REMAINS 05/91
1970 TAKAGI YUJIRO JAPAN NOT ON OFFICIAL LISTS
1972 ALLEY JAMES H. PLANTATION FL "CRASH, FIRE, SAR NEG" REMAINS IDENTIFIED 25 SEPT 1997
1972 AVERY ALLEN J. AUBURN MA "CRASH, FIRE, SAR NEG" REMAINS RETURNED 10/01/97
1972 CALL JOHN H. III POTOMAC MD "CRASH, FIRE, SAR NEG" REMAINS RETURNED 10/01/97
1972 CHAPMAN PETER H. II CENTERBURG OH "CRASH, FIRE, SAR NEG" REMAINS RETURNED 10/01/97
1972 DUNLOP THOMAS E. NEPTUNE BEACH FL
1972 PEARSON WILLIAM R. WARNER NH "CRASH, FIRE, SAR NEG" REMAINS RETURNED 10/01/97
1972 PRATER ROY DEWITT TIFFIN OH "CRASH, FIRE, SAR NEG" REMAINS RETURNED 10/01/97

Births which occurred on April 06:

1483 Raphael [Raffaello Sanzio] Urbino Italy, painter/master builder (Madonna Sistina)
1631 Vincenzo De Grandis composer
1660 Johann Kuhnau composer
1671 Jean-Baptiste Rousseau French playwright/poet (Sacred Odes & Songs)
1672 Andre Cardinal Destouches composer
1708 George Reuter composer
1741 Sébastien-Roch-Nicolas Chamfort French playwright (Maximes)
1752 Johann Friedrich Kranz composer
1757 Alessandro Rolla composer
1773 James Mill Scotland, philosopher/historian (Hist of British India)
1778 Joseph Funk composer
1806 Elizabeth Barrett Browning poet (Sonnets from the Portuguese)/Mrs Robert Browning
1810 Philip Gosse intentor of institutional aquarium, writer (Omphalos)
1812 Aaron Bernstein writer
1812 Gavril Yakimovich Lomakin composer
1815 Friedrich Robert Volkmann composer
1818 Francis Henry Brown composer
1819 Johann A H Scheler Belgian librarian
1823 Joseph Medill St John New Brunswick Canada, newspaper editor (Chicago Tribune)
1826 Gustave Moreau French painter
1828 Charles William Field Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1892
1830 James Augustine Healy Macon GA, 1st black Roman Catholic bishop
1833 Johan H C Kern Dutch linguist (Sanskrit, Old Javan)
1835 Jose Marraco y Ferrer composer
1844 Joseph Ludwig composer
1860 René Lalique French jewel designer
1866 Joseph Lincoln Steffens muckraker/journalist (Shame of the Cities)
1866 Butch Cassidy [Robert Parker] US desperado (Wild Bunch Passage)
1869 Louis Raemakers Dutch draftsman/painter
1871 Alexander grandson of England's Queen Victoria
1878 Carl Emil Theodor Ehrenberg composer
1878 Erich Mühsam writer
1883 Mien Labberton Dutch poetress
1884 Walter Huston Toronto Ontario Canada, actor (Maltese Falcon, Treasure of Sierra Madre)
1885 Carlos Leon Salzedo composer
1888 Daniel Andersson Swedish poet/writer (Svarta Ballader)
1889 Barry Macollum Northern Ireland
1889 Gabriela Mistral writer
1890 André L Danjon French astronomer
1890 Anthony Herman Gerard Fokker Holland, aircraft pioneer (Spider)
1892 Lowell Thomas Woodington OH, newscaster (High Adventure)
1892 Donald Wills Douglas US, aircraft pioneer (McConnell Douglas)
1892 Mateusz Glinski composer
1896 Juan Tomas Perez composer
1898 Bobby Gilbert Pennsylvania, actor (Rebel Set, Marcus Welby MD)
1900 Andrés Sas Perú, composer
1900 Leo Robin US writer (Thanks For the Memory)
1901 Willem Pelemans Flemish composer/music reviewer
1902 Gertrude Short Cincinnati OH, actress (Stella Dallas, Blonde Venus)
1903 Harold Edgerton foremost high-speed photographer
1903 Mickey Cochrane baseball hall of fame catcher (.320 average)
1904 Kurt G Kiesinger German chancellor (Wherever They May Be)
1906 John Betjeman English Poet Laureate 1972-1984 (Mount Zion)
1908 Vano Il'ich Muradov [Muradeli] Russia, composer
1910 Desmond Dreyer British Admiral
1911 Phyllis Margaret Duncan Tate composer
1912 Endre Szekely composer
1912 Wilhelmus H L "Willem" Tollenaar actor/director (Don Carlos)
1914 George Reeves Ashland KY, actor (Superman, Gone With the Wind)
1917 Julian Faber CEO (Willis Faber)
1917 Walter "Shakey" Horton Mississippi, harmonicist (Everybody's Fishin')
1918 Joan Bernard Principal (Trevelyan College, Durham)
1918 Karen Verne Berlin Germany, actress (Madame X)
1920 Bernard Carter British painter/etcher
1921 Andrew Welsh Imbrie composer
1921 Franta Belsky British sculptor
1921 Lord Moore of Wolvercote
1922 Barry Levinson Baltimore MD, director (Homicide@Life on the Street, Avalon, Rain Man, Diner)
1925 Arthur D Larsen tennis champion (US Open-1950)
1925 John Knox British supreme court justice
1925 Marcus Worsley Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire
1926 Ian Paisley North Ireland, clergyman/MP
1927 David Ingram Vice-Chancellor (University of Kent at Canterbury)
1927 Gerry Mulligan British saxophonist/orchestra leader (Jazz on a Summer Day)
1928 Joi Lansing Salt Lake City UT, actress (Bob Cummings Show)
1928 James Dewey Watson chemist (co-discovered structure of DNA)
1929 "Crazy" Joe Gallo mobster
1929 André Previn Berlin Germany, conductor (London Symphony)/composer/pianist
1929 Arthur S Taylor Jr US drummer/band leader (Taylor's Wailers)
1929 Edison Vasalievich Denisov composer
1929 Li Yuan-chia artist
1929 Willis Hall British writer
1931 Ivan Dixon New York NY, actor (Car Wash, Hogan's Heroes)
1931 Joan Carlyle British soprano
1933 Dudley Sutton British actor (Leather Boys, Brimstone & Treacle)
1934 Antonius Geesink Holland, judo (Olympics-gold-1964)
1934 Reijo Jyrkiainen composer
1935 John Pepper Clark Nigeria, writer (Horn, Song of a Goat)
1936 Manfred Schoof composer
1937 Billy Dee Williams Harlem New York NY, actor (Lady Sings the Blues, Chiefs, Empire Strikes Back, Double Dare)
1937 Merle Haggard Bakersfield CA, country singer (Death Valley Days)
1937 Tom Veivers cricketer (Australian off-spinner in the 60's)
1938 Paul Daniels British magician
1938 Roy Thinnes Chicago IL, actor (Invaders, Falcon Crest, General Hospital)
1940 Anne Campbell MP
1940 Homero Aridjis Mexican poet (La Tumba de Filidor)
1941 Hans W Geissendorfer Augsburg Germany, director (Sternsteinhof)
1942 Phil Austin comedian (Firesign Theater)
1943 Susan Tolsky Houston, actress (Madame's Place, Here Come the Brides)
1943 Harry Conroy trade unionist
1943 Joaquin Agostinho Portuguese cyclist
1943 Roger Cook investigative journalist/broadcaster
1944 John Stax rocker (Pretty Things-Don't Bring Me Down)
1944 Judith McConnell Pittsburgh PA, actress (Sophia-Santa Barbara)
1944 [Holly] Michelle [Gilliam] Phillips Long Beach CA, singer (Mama & Papas)/actress (Knots Landing)
1944 Felicity Palmer British mezzo-soprano
1945 Bob Marley reggae musician/singer (Whalers-No Woman)
1945 Rodney Bickerstaffe trade unionist
1946 Paul Beresford MP
1947 Jan Kees Wiebenga Dutch MP (VVD)
1947 Tony Connor Romford Essex England, drummer (Hot Chocolate-You Sexy Thing)
1949 Jane Actman New York NY, actress (Barbara-Paul Lynde Show)
1949 Mary Maples Dunn college president (Smith College)
1950 Dennis E Eckart (Representative-Democrat-OH, 1981- )
1951 Ralph Cooper Australia, drummer (Air Supply-All Out of Love)
1952 Marilu Henner Chicago IL, actress (Taxi, Man Who Loved Women, Evening Shade)
1952 Udo Dirkshneider heavy metal rocker (Accept-Balls to the Wall, Udo)
1952 Judith McConnell actress (Sophia Capwell-Santa Barbara)
1953 Janet Lynn ice skater (Olympics-bronze-1972)
1954 Judi Bowker Shawford England, actress (Clash of the Titans)
1956 Dilip Vengsarkar cricketer (prolific Indian batsman 1976-92)
1956 Mudassar Nazar cricketer (son of Nazar Mohammad Pakistani bat)
1957 Maurizio Damilano Italian speed walker (30K World Record)
1959 Dianne Brill Tampa, fashion designer/party girl (Queen of the Night)
1961 Mike Schuchart Omaha NE, Nike golfer (1994 NIKE Tour Championship)
1961 Rory Bremner impressionist
1962 Stan Cullimore bassist (Housemartins-Happy Hour, Over There)
1963 Lorenzo Lynch NFL safety (Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Raiders)
1964 Johnny Dee heavy metal drummer (Britny Fox-Boys in Heat, King Kobra)
1964 Bill Brooks NFL wide receiver (Buffalo Bills)
1965 Rica Reinisch German Democratic Republic, 100 meter/200 meter backstroke (Olympics-gold-1980)
1965 Gerald Diduck Edmonton, NHL defenseman (Hartford Whalers)
1965 Virginia Lee Australian rower (Olympics-96)
1966 Kymberly Paige Newport Beach CA, playmate (May 1987)
1967 John Ratzenberger Bridgeport CT, actor (Cliff Clavin-Cheers)
1967 Derrick Fenner NFL running back (Oakland Raiders)
1968 Chris Anderson Australian high jumper (Olympics-96)
1969 Ari Meyers San Juan Puerto Rico, actress (Emma McArdle-Kate & Allie)
1969 Andy Harmon NFL defensive tackle (Philadelphia Eagles)
1969 Bret Boone El Cajon CA, infielder (Cincinnati Reds)
1969 Brian Williams NBA center/forward (Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers)
1970 Olaf Kolzig Johannesbourg Saf, NHL goalie (Washington Capitals)
1970 Oliver Miller NBA forward/center (Toronto Raptors)
1971 Anthony Redmon guard (Arizona Cardinals)
1971 Tamara Henry Miss Arkansas-USA (1997)
1971 Tom Sorensen Racine WI, volleyball middle blocker (Olympics-96)
1971 Vivian Y Herding Albuquerque NM, Miss New Mexico-America (1996)
1972 Jason Hervey actor (Wayne Arnold-Wonder Years)
1972 Dickey Simpkins NBA forward (San Francisco Warriors, Chicago Bulls)
1972 Donald Blair CFL slot back (Edmonton Eskimos)
1972 Hurvin McCormack NFL defensive tackle (Dallas Cowboys)
1973 Donnie Edwards linebacker (Kansas City Chiefs)
1973 Randall Godfrey linebacker (Dallas Cowboys)
1975 Damon Phillip Pampolina rapper/drummer (Party)
1976 Candace [Helaine] Cameron Bure Panorama City CA, actress (DJ Tanner-Full House)
1976 Soleil Moon Frye Glendora CA, actress (Punky Brewster)
1976 Simon Coombes Melbourne Victoria Australia, swimmer (Olympics-96)
1979 Ali Burr Miss North Carolina Teen-USA (1997)
1979 Frederick MGDL Windsor son of English prince Michael
1980 Matthew Thomas Carey actor (Once You Meet a Stranger)
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Deaths which occurred on April 06:

0885 Methodius Greek apostle of the slaves/archbishop of Sirmium, dies
0912 Nottker "the Stamelaar" benedictine monk/poet, dies at about 71
1199 Richard I the Lion-hearted, King of England (1189-99), dies at 41
1252 Peter of Verona [Peter Martyr] Italian inquisitor/st, dies at 45
1348 Petrarch's Laura dies of plague
1362 Jacques de Bourbon count of Marche, killed in battle
1472 Pieter Bladelin Belgium, land owner (Middelburg castle), dies
1489 Hans Waldmann Swiss military/mayor (Zurich), beheaded
1490 Matthias Corvinus king of Hungary, dies
1520 Raphael [Sanzio] artist (Sistine Madonna), dies on his 37th birthday
1528 Albrecht Dürer German painter/graphic artist, dies in Nürnberg Germany at 56
1551 Joachim Vadianus Swiss physician/mayor of Sankt Gallen, dies at 66
1590 Francis Walsingham English Secretary of State, dies at about 57
1593 Henry Barrow English puritian/Congressionalist, hanged
1593 John Greenwood English Congressionalist, hanged
1605 John Stow British historian, dies
1674 Charles de Méan Belgian lawyer (Observations), dies at 69
1707 Willem Van de Velde the Young, Dutch seascape painter, dies a 73
1779 Tommaso MFS Traetta Italian opera composer (Farnace), dies at 52
1782 Rynoldus Popma van Oevering composer, dies at 90
1805 Lorenz Justinian Ott composer, dies at 56
1817 Bonaventura Furlanetto composer, dies at 78
1822 Franz Xaver Partsch composer, dies at 62
1829 Niels H Able Norwegian mathematician (infinite series), dies at 26
1838 José B de Andrada e Silva premier of Brazil (1822-23), dies at 74
1854 William Strickland US architect, dies
1862 Adley Hogan Gladden Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 51
1862 Albert Sidney Johnston US Confederate General, dies in battle at 59
1865 John Austin Wharton US Confederate General-Major, dies at 36
1865 Reuben B Boston US Confederate cavalry Colonel, dies in battle
1884 Emanuel Geibel writer, dies at 68
1906 Alexander L Kielland Norwegian writer (Working People), dies at 57
1913 Jose Marraco y Ferrer composer, dies on 78th birthday
1919 Stefan Surzynski composer, dies at 63
1926 Giovanni Amendola antifascist/editor-in-chief (Il Mondo), dies at 43
1931 Giuseppi Radiciotti composer, dies at 73
1935 Edward Arlington Robinson US poet, dies
1939 Robert Courtneidge British theater producer, dies
1940 Andres Isasi composer, dies at 49
1945 Benjamin M Telders president (Dutch Liberal States Party), dies at 42
1947 Vaclav Kapral composer, dies at 58
1949 Stanley Christopherson cricketer (1884, MCC President during WWII), dies
1951 Halfdan Cleve composer, dies at 71
1961 Jules J B V Bordet Belgian bacteriologist (Nobel 1919), dies at 90
1962 J C Heldring Dutch businessman, dies at 74
1966 Julia Faye actress (10 Commandments. Samson & Delilah), dies at 73
1968 Bobby Hutton US Black Panther leader, shot to death
1971 Igor F Stravinsky Russian composer (Le Sacre du Printemps), dies in New York at 88
1972 Heinrich Lübke West Germany President (1959-69), dies at 77
1974 Willem Dudok Dutch architect (Hilversum Town Hall), dies at 89
1976 Ruth P Thomson writer, dies
1978 Nicolas Nabokov composer (Holy Devil), dies at 74
1978 Reinoud Anders Dutch actor (Unrest of Grave), dies at 65
1979 M Marie Widlow softball pitcher (Hall of Fame 1957), dies at 61
1979 Milton Ager US composer, dies at 85
1981 Bob "The Bear" Hite singer (Canned Heat-Goin' up the Country), dies
1983 Ana Maria Salvador guerilla leader, murdered
1984 Jimmy Kenndy British songwriter (South of the Border), dies
1984 Ral Donner singer/narrator, dies at 41
1990 Lady Nancy Hawkes (1946 best-dressed woman) dies at 73
1990 Ronald E Evans astronaut (Apollo 17), dies of a heart attack at 57
1991 Bill Ponsford cricketer (Test average 48 22, 1st-class average 65 18), dies
1992 Isaac Asimov science fiction writer (I Robot), dies from kidney failure at 72
1992 Molly Picon yiddish actress (Milk & Honey), dies of Alzheimers at 94
1993 Divya Bharati "Baby Doll" Indies actress (Diwana), dies in car at 19
1993 Hedi Amira Nouira PM of Tunisia (1970-80), dies
1994 Agatha Uwilingiyimana Rwanda/1st female PM in Africa, assassinated
1994 Cyprian Niayamira President of Burundi (1993-94), assassinated
1994 Dick Cary jazz musician, dies at 77
1994 Juvénal Habayarimana President of Rwanda (1973), assassinated
1994 Patricia Louise Dalton chair (Sherlock Holmes Society), dies at 75
1994 Theo Bosch humanist/architect (Amsterdam), dies at 54
1995 Vieno J Sukselainen PM of Finland (1959-61), dies
1996 Greer Garson actress (Goodbye Mr Chips), dies at 92
1997 Jack Kent Cooke NFL owner (Washington Redskins), dies at 84

1776 Congress opens all U.S. ports to international trade

On this day in 1776, the Continental Congress takes the first step toward American independence by announcing their decision to open all American ports to international trade with any part of the world that is not under British rule.

It was the first act of independence by the Continental Congress that had so openly and publicly rejected the American Prohibitory Act passed by the British parliament in December 1775. The act was designed to punish the American colonies for the rebellion against the king and British rule, which had begun with the Battle of Lexington and Concord in April 1775, by banning all British trade with America. It was, in essence, a declaration of economic warfare by Great Britain. For its part, the Continental Congress’ decision to open all ports to any country but those ruled by Britain constituted America’s declaration of economic independence.

The economic relationship between Britain and the 13 colonies had been mercantilist--the colonies provided raw materials such as rice and tobacco to the mother country, Great Britain, and in return received manufactured goods such as textiles and ceramics or foreign goods such as tea. Under the mercantile system, all American imports and exports had to pass through Great Britain on their way to and from the colonies. Undoing this economic relationship was a necessary aspect of freeing the colonies from the control of the British empire. Recognizing this, Britain had passed the Tea Act in 1773 in a misguided attempt to trick colonists into accepting parliamentary taxation by making legal tea imported from India through Britain cheaper than non-taxed tea smuggled into the colonies from the Netherlands. It failed; the colonists were outraged and protested vigorously, most famously in form of the Boston Tea Party. The Prohibitory Act finally cut the colonists loose from the mercantilist system, but not without repercussions: colonists lost not only the burdens of British taxes, but the benefits of British products, making it necessary for the new nation to open its ports to trade from elsewhere.
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1862 Battle of Shiloh begins

The Civil War explodes in the west as the armies of Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston collide at Shiloh, near Pittsburgh Landing in Tennessee. The Battle of Shiloh became one of the bloodiest engagements of the war, and the level of violence shocked North and South alike.

For six months, Yankee troops had been working their way up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. Kentucky was firmly in Union hands, and now the Federals controlled much of Tennessee, including the capital at Nashville. Grant scored major victories at Forts Henry and Donelson in February, forcing Johnston to gather the scattered Rebel forces at Corinth in northern Mississippi. Grant brought his army, 42,000 strong, to rendezvous with General Don Carlos Buell and his 20,000 troops. Grant's objective was Corinth, a vital rail center that if captured would give the Union total control of the region. Twenty miles away, Johnston lurked at Corinth with 45,000 soldiers.

Johnston did not wait for Grant and Buell to combine their forces. He advanced on April 3, delayed by rains and muddy roads that also slowed Buell. In the early dawn of April 6, a Yankee patrol found the Confederates poised for battle just a mile from the main Union army. Johnston attacked, driving the surprised bluecoats back near a small church called Shiloh, meaning "place of peace." Throughout the day, the Confederates battered the Union army, driving it back towards Pittsburgh Landing and threatening to trap it against the Tennessee River. Many troops on both sides had no experience in battle. The chances for a complete Confederate victory diminished as troops from Buell's army began arriving, and Grant's command on the battlefield shored up the sagging Union line. In the middle of the afternoon, Johnston rode forward to direct the Confederate attack and was struck in the leg by a bullet. The ball severed an artery, and Johnston quickly bled to death. He became the highest ranking general on either side killed during the war. General Pierre G. T. Beauregard assumed control, and he halted the advance at nightfall. The Union army was driven back two miles, but it did not break.

The arrival of additional troops from Buell's army provided Grant with reinforcements, while the Confederates were worn out from their march. The next day, Grant pushed the Confederates back to Corinth for a major Union victory.
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1865 Battle of Sayler's Creek

Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle as it retreats westward from Richmond. Lee's army tried to hold off the pursuing Yankees of General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting around Sayler's Creek, the Yankees captured 1,700 Confederate troops and 300 supply wagons. As Lee watched his men staggering away from the battlefield, he cried, "My God, has the army been dissolved?" Lee surrendered three days later.
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1917 U.S. enters World War I

On April 6, 1917, two days after the U.S. Senate votes 82 to 6 to declare war against Germany, the U.S. House of Representatives endorses the decision by a vote of 373 to 50, and the United States formally enters the First World War.

When World War I erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for the United States, a position favored by the vast majority of Americans. Britain, however, was one of America's closest trading partners, and tension soon arose between the United States and Germany over the latter's attempted quarantine of the British Isles. Several U.S. ships traveling to Britain were damaged or sunk by German mines, and, in February 1915, Germany announced unrestricted warfare against all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain. One month later, Germany announced that a German cruiser had sunk the William P. Frye, a private American vessel. President Wilson was outraged, but the German government apologized, calling the attack an unfortunate mistake.

On May 7, the British-owned ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed without warning just off the coast of Ireland. Of the nearly 2,000 passengers aboard, 1,201 were killed, including 128 Americans. The German government maintained, correctly, that the Lusitania was carrying munitions, but the U.S. demanded reparations and an end to German attacks on unarmed passenger and merchant ships. In August, Germany pledged to see to the safety of passengers before sinking unarmed vessels, but in November a U-boat sank an Italian liner without warning, killing 272 people, including 27 Americans. With these attacks, public opinion in the United States began to turn irrevocably against Germany.

In February 1917, Germany, determined to win its war of attrition against the Allies, resumed its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare in war-zone waters. Three days later, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany; the same day, the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. On February 22, Congress passed a $250 million arms-appropriations bill intended to ready the United States for war. In late March, Germany sank four more U.S. merchant ships, and on April 2, President Wilson went before Congress to deliver his famous “war message.” Within four days, both houses of Congress had voted in favor of a declaration of war.

Despite measures taken to improve U.S. military preparedness in the previous year, Wilson was unable to offer the Allies much immediate help in the form of troops; indeed, the army was only able to muster about 100,000 men at the time of American entrance into the war. To remedy this, Wilson immediately adopted a policy of conscription. By the time the war ended on November 11, 1918, more than 2 million American soldiers had served on the battlefields of Western Europe, and some 50,000 of them had lost their lives. Still, the most important effect of the U.S. entrance into the war was economic—by the beginning of April 1917, Britain alone was spending $75 million per week on U.S. arms and supplies, both for itself and for its allies, and had an overdraft of $358 million. The American entry into the war saved Great Britain, and by extension the rest of the Entente, from bankruptcy.

The United States also crucially reinforced the strength of the Allied naval blockade of Germany, in effect from the end of 1914 and aimed at crushing Germany economically. American naval forces reached Britain on April 9, 1917, just three days after the declaration of war. By contrast, General John J. Pershing, the man appointed to command the U.S. Army in Europe, did not arrive until June 14; roughly a week later, the first 14,000 U.S. infantry troops landed in France to begin training for combat. Though the U.S. Army’s contributions began slowly, they would eventually mark a major turning point in the war effort and help the Allies to victory.
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1941 Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece

The German air force launches Operation Castigo, the bombing of Belgrade, on this day in 1941, as 24 divisions and 1,200 tanks drive into Greece.

The attack on Yugoslavia was swift and brutal, an act of terror resulting in the death of 17,000 civilians--the largest number of civilian casualties in a single day since the start of the war. Making the slaughter all the worse was that nearby towns and villages had emptied out into the capital city to celebrate Palm Sunday. All of Yugoslavia's airfields were also bombed, destroying most of its 600 aircraft while still on the ground.

As part of a comprehensive Balkan offensive, German forces also bombed the Greek port city of Piraeus as army divisions swept south and west, en route to Salonica and the eventual occupation of Greece.

Also on this day: British General Alan Cunningham's troops enter Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, formally expelling the Italian occupiers and setting the stage for the return of Ethiopia's emperor, Haile Selassie
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1965 U.S. ground combat troops to take offensive measures

National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy drafts and signs National Security Action Memorandum 328 on behalf of President Lyndon B. Johnson. This document came out of National Security Council meetings that were held on April 1 and April 2. The memorandum authorized U.S. personnel to take the offensive in South Vietnam to secure "enclaves" and to support South Vietnamese operations. The so-called "enclave strategy" called for the U.S. forces to control the densely-populated coastal areas while the South Vietnamese forces moved inland to fight the communists. This memorandum represented a major mission change for the American soldiers and Marines who had recently arrived in Vietnam. American forces had been limited to strictly defensive operations around the U.S. air bases, but the memorandum authorized them to go on the offensive to secure large areas of terrain, an escalation of U.S. involvement in the war.
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1972 U.S. forces respond to North Vietnamese offensive

Clear weather for the first time in three days allows U.S. planes and Navy warships to begin the sustained air strikes and naval bombardments ordered by President Nixon in response to the massive North Vietnamese offensive launched on March 30.

The Nguyen Hue Offensive (later known as the "Easter Offensive") was a massive invasion by North Vietnamese forces designed to strike the blow that would win the war for the communists. 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 were Quang Tri in the north, Kontum in the Central Highlands, and An Loc farther to the south.

President Richard Nixon had ordered the Air Force and Navy to provide all available air support to help the South Vietnamese stabilize the situation. In response, U.S. planes flew 225 missions by April 9, hitting North Vietnamese troop concentrations and missile emplacements above and below the Demilitarized Zone. Two U.S. planes were shot down over North Vietnam by missiles, a new element in North Vietnamese air defenses.

Ultimately, the South Vietnamese forces prevailed against the invaders, but only after six months of desperate fighting that raged across South Vietnam. U.S. airpower proved to be the difference between victory and defeat for the South Vietnamese. 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.