Full Version : 07 April 2006
wartime >>This Day in History >>07 April 2006


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BB-39 USS ARIZONA- 04-07-2006
On This Day in History......

0451 Attila's Hun's plunder Metz
1118 Pope Gelasius II excommunicated Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
1348 Prague U, 1st university in central Europe, formed by Charles IV
1456 Louis van Burbon becomes prince-bishop of Luik
1498 Crowd storms Savonarola's convent San Marco Florence Italy
1509 France declares war on Venice
1521 Inquisitor-General Adrian Boeyens bans Lutheran books
1521 Magelhaes' fleet reaches Cebu
1584 Ieper surrenders to duke Van Parma
1625 Albrecht von Wallenstein appointed German supreme commander
1645 Michael Cardozo becomes 1st Jewish lawyer in Brazil
1652 Dutch establish settlement at Cape Town, South Africa
1655 Fabio Chigi replaces Pope Innocent X as Alexander VII
1712 Slave revolt (New York NY)
1724 Johann S Bach's "John Passion" premieres in Leipzig
1788 1st settlement in Ohio, at Marietta
1798 Territory of Mississippi is organized
1805 Premiere of Beethoven's "Eroica" (conducted by himself)
1818 General Andrew Jackson conquers St Marks FL from Seminole Indians
1827 English chemist John Walker invents wooden matches
1831 Dom Pedro abdicates to son, Dom Pedro II crowned emperor of Brazil
1860 Grand duke Frederik I liberalizes laws in Bathe
1862 Grant defeats Confederates at Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee; Island #10 falls
1863 Battle of Charleston SC, failed Federal fleet attack on Fort Sumter
1865 Battle of Farmville VA
1888 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Yellow Face" (BG)
1891 Nebraska introduces the 8 hour work day
1901 SDAP demands General voting right/abolishing First Chamber
1902 Texas Oil Company (Texaco) forms
1906 Act of Algeciras drawn between Moroccan police & banking business
1917 De Falla's ballet "El Sombrero de tres Picos", premieres in Madrid
1917 James Barries' "Old Lady Shows Her", premieres in London
1919 1st parcel of land is purchased for Cleveland Metroparks
1922 Naval Reserve #3, "Teapot Dome", leased to Harry F Sinclair
1923 1st brain tumor operation under local anesthetic performed (Beth Israel Hospital in NYC) by Dr K Winfield Ney
1923 Workers Party of America (NYC) becomes official communist party
1926 Forest fire burns 900 acres & kills 2 (San Luis Obispo CA)
1926 Mussolini's Irish wife breaks his nose
1927 Using phone lines TV is sent from Washington DC to New York NY
1928 44-year old New York Ranger General Manager Lester Patrick replaces his injured goaltender in a Stanley Cup game, & beats Montréal Maroons 2-1
1931 Seals Stadium opens in San Francisco
1933 Prohibition ends, Utah becomes 38th state to ratify 21st Amendment
1933 University Bridge, Seattle opens for traffic
1933 1st 2 Nazi anti-Jewish laws, bar Jews from legal & public service
1934 In India, Mahatma Gandhi suspends his campaign of civil disobedience
1939 Italy annexes Albania
1940 1st black to appear on US stamp (Booker T Washington)
1940 7th Golf Masters Championship Jimmy Demaret beats Lloyd Mangrum, shooting a 280
1941 British Generals O'Connor & Neame captured in North Africa
1942 Heavy German assault on Malta
1943 NFL adopts free substitution rule
1943 Adolf Hitler & Benito Mussolini meet for an Axis conference in Salzburg
1943 British/US troops make contact at Wadi Akarit, South-Tunisia
1943 Lieutenant Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg seriously wounded in allied air raid
1944 General Montgomery speaks to Generals about invasion plan
1945 1st & last assault of German Rammkommando on US bombers
1945 US B-17's bombs range at Lüneburg
1945 US planes intercept Japanese fleet heading for Okinawa on a suicide mission; superbattleship Yamato & four destroyers are sunk
1946 Part of East Prussia incorporated into Russian SFSR
1946 10th Golf Masters Championship Herman Keiser wins, shooting a 282
1948 World Health Organization established by UN
1949 Rogers & Hammerstein's "South Pacific" opens at Majestic Theater (for 1928 performances)
1951 American Bowling Congress begins 1st masters tournament
1951 15th Golf Masters Championship Ben Hogan wins, shooting a 280
1951 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak
1953 1st west-to-east jet transatlantic nonstop flight
1953 Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden elected 2nd UN General-Secretary
1954 German government refuses to recognize DDR
1954 President Dwight Eisenhower fears "domino-effect" in Indo-China
1954 WALB TV channel 10 in Albany GA (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1956 Spain relinquishes her protectorate in Morocco
1956 10th NBA Championship Philadelphia Warriors beat Fort Wayne Pistons, 4 games to 1
1957 21st Golf Masters Championship Doug Ford wins, shooting a 283
1957 Last of New York's electric trolleys completes its final run
1958 Dodgers erect 42-foot screen in left field at Los Angeles Coliseum to cut down on home runs, since it is only 250 feet down the line
1959 Radar 1st bounced off sun, Stanford CA
1959 Oklahoma ends prohibition, after 51 years
1962 Umrigar slams 172 vs West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 248 minutes
1962 Yugoslav ex-president Milovan Djilas returns to jail
1963 Yugoslavia proclaimed a Socialistic republic
1963 27th Golf Masters Championship Jack Nicklaus wins, shooting a 286
1963 Public stock offering of 115,000 shares in Milwaukee Braves withdrawn after only 13,000 shares are sold to 1,600 new investors
1965 Bevan Congdon makes a stumping as 12th man New Zealand vs Pakistan
1966 US recovers lost H-bomb from Mediterranean floor (whoops!)
1967 Israeli/Syrian border fights
1967 Tom Donahue, San Francisco dj begins new radio format - Progressive (KMPX-FM)
1969 Dodgers' Bill Singer is credited with 1st official save, against Reds
1969 Supreme Court strikes down laws prohibiting private possession of obscene material
1969 Ted Williams begins managing Washington Senators, they lose to Yankees 8-4
1970 "Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-moon Marigolds", premieres in NYC
1970 42nd Academy Awards - "Midnight Cowboy", John Wayne & Maggie Smith win
1970 Milwaukee Brewers (former Seattle Pilots) 1st game, lose to Angels 12-0
1971 Dismissal of Curt Flood's suit against baseball is upheld by Supreme Court
1971 President Richard Nixon orders Lieutenant Calley (My Lai) free
1971 WCJB TV channel 20 in Gainesville FL (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting 3-judge US Circuit Court of Appeals
1973 Cleveland sets day-game & opening-game attendance records of 74,420
1973 Doug Walters' best Test Cricket bowling, 5-66 vs West Indies Georgetown
1974 Herb Gardner's "Thieves", premieres in NYC
1976 Chinese Politburo fires vice-premier Deng Xiaoping
1977 Consumer Product Safety Commission bans the flame-retardant chemical "TRIS"
1977 Toronto Blues Jays 1st game, they beat Chicago 9-5
1978 President Jimmy Carter defers production of the neutron bomb
1978 Guttenberg bible sold for $2,000,000 in NYC
1978 US Court of Appeals upholds Commissioner Kuhn's voiding of attempted player sales by A's owner Charlie Finley in June 1976
1979 Henri La Mothe dives 28' into 12 3/8" of water
1979 Houston Astro Ken Forsch pitches no-hitter against Atlanta Braves, 6-0
1979 Islander's Mike Bossy scores 4 goals against Flyers
1980 Jimmy Carter breaks relations with Iran during hostage crisis
1981 Willem Klein mentally extracts 13th root of a 100-digit # in 29 seconds
1981 Belgium Eyskens government forms
1982 Pittsburgh Penguins 1-New York Islanders 8-Preliminary-Islanders hold 1-0 lead
1982 Iran minister of Foreign affairs Ghotbzadeh arrested
1983 STS-6 specialist Story Musgrave & Don Peterson 1st STS spacewalk
1983 Washington Capitals 4-New York Islanders 2-Patrick Division Semifinals-series tied 1-1
1983 WIBC Championship Tournament in Las Vegas, attracts 75,480 women bowlers for 83-day event
1983 Oldest human skeleton, aged 80,000 years, discovered in Egypt
1984 Detroit Tiger Jack Morris pitches no-hitter against Chicago White Sox, 4-0
1985 1st live telecast of Easter Parade
1985 14th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Alice Miller
1985 New Jersey General Hershel Walker runs for USFL record 233 yards
1986 Wrestlemania II at 3 locations, Hulk Hogan beats King Kong Bundy
1987 National Museum of Female Physicians opens in Washington DC
1988 New Jersey Devils 3-2 over New York Islanders, 1st NHL playoff round tied 1-1
1988 Gerrit John Heijns murderer, arrested
1988 Russia announces it will withdraw its troops from Afghánistán
1988 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1989 New York Supreme Court takes America's Cup away from San Diego Yacht Club for using a catamaran against New Zealand; Appeals court eventually overrules
1989 Soviet sub sinks in Norwegian Sea, with about a dozen deaths
1990 Farm Aid IV concert
1990 Fire kills 110 on a ferry in Norway, in an unrelated event, 30 die in a ferry flip over in Burma
1990 John Poindexter (National Security Advisor) found guilty on Iran-Contra scandal
1990 Michael Milken pleads innocent to security law violations
1990 New York Rangers beat New York Islanders 5-2, Rangers lead 2-0 in preliminary NHL playoff
1990 BPAA US Open by Ron Palombi Jr
1991 George Washington Bridge raises toll from $3.00 to $4.00
1991 Wrestlemania VII scheduled in Los Angeles CA, actually performed 03/24
1991 "Big Love" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 41 performances
1991 "Shadowlands" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC after 169 performances
1991 3rd Seniors Golf Tradition Jack Nicklaus
1991 Chris Johnson wins LPGA Ping/Welch's Golf Championship
1991 Compton Gamma Ray Observatory orbits Earth
1993 Dante Bichette hits the 1st Colorado Rockie homerun (Shea Stadium, New York)
1994 "Medea" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 82 performances
1994 1st night game at Cleveland's Jacobs Field, Indians 6 Seattle 2
1994 New York Yankees beat Texas Rangers 18-6
1994 Shannen Doherty files for divorce from Ashley Hamilton
1994 Singer Percy Sledge pleads guilty to tax evasion
1994 Vatican acknowledges Holocaust (Nazi's killing Jews) for 1st time
1995 Baseball exhibition season begins late due to strike
1996 8th Seniors Golf Tradition Jack Nicklaus wins
1996 Jayasuriya hits fastest ODI fifty off 17 balls vs Pakistan, Singapore
1996 Kelly Robbins wins Sacramento 12 Bridges LPGA Golf Classic
1996 Pakistan beat Sri Lanka to win Singer Cup in Singapore
1997 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Fort Myers FL on WRXK 96.1 FM
____________________________________________________________________

Missing In Action......

1965 BAKER ARTHUR D. SAN ANTONIO TX LAST SEEN ON DIVE THRU THIN CLOUDS
1965 LEWIS JAMES W. MARSHALL TX LAST SEEN ON DIVE THRU THIN CLOUDS
1965 ROARK WILLIAM MARSHALL BELLEVUE NE REMAINS NOT RETURNED AS REPORTED 03/77 BODY RECOVERED?? USG REPORTS REMAINS ID 3/77
1966 BARNETT ROBERT RUSSELL GLADEWATER TX
1966 WALKER THOMAS TAYLOR TOLEDO OR
1968 MC MURRAY FRED H. JR. CHARLESTON SC
1972 CARLSON ALBERT E. SAN LORENZO CA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG
1972 LULL HOWARD B. JR. DALLAS TX EVADED TO XT7297 WHERE KILLED
1972 POTTS LARRY F. SMYRNA DE "CAPTURED, DIED IN QUANG BIHN"
1972 SMITH MARK A. LIMA OH 02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG
1972 SCHOTT RICHARD S. ST CROIX VI KILLED IN BUNKER AT XU731081
1972 WALKER BRUCE C. PUEBLO CO "EVADED 11 DAYS, NVA APPROACHING"
1972 WALLINGFORD KENNETH HOUSTON TX 02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG

BB-39 USS ARIZONA- 04-07-2006
Births which occurred on April 07:

1506 St Francis Xavier Jesuit missionary to India, Malaya, & Japan
1534 José de Anchieta Spanish jesuit/missionary (Brazilian Tupi-Indians)
1613 Gerard Dou Dutch painter (Night School)
1622 Louise Hollandine daughter of King Frederik V & Elizabeth Stuart
1629 Juan José of Austria, Spanish General/Governor of Netherlands
1648 Ferdinand van Kessel Flemish painter
1694 Coelestin Praelisauer composer
1699 Andreas Benedikt Praelisauer composer
1727 Henri Hardouin composer
1727 Michel Adanson French biologist (Natural History of Sénégal)
1745 Georg Druschetzky composer
1748 Georg Wenzel Ritter composer
1756 Charles Felix King of Sardina (1821-31)
1763 Domenico Dragonetti composer
1768 Karl Theodor Toeschi composer
1770 William Wordsworth England, poet laureate (The Prelude)
1772 F M Charles Fourier French socialist
1775 Francis C Lowell founded 1st raw cotton-to-cloth textile mill
1780 William Ellery Channing US, Unitarian clergyman
1786 William Rufus DeVane King (D) 13th US Vice President (1853)
1801 Henry Eagle Commander (Union Navy), died in 1882
1803 Flora Tristan writer
1805 Francis Wilkinson Pickens (Governor-SC, Confederacy), died in 1869
1819 Hubert Leonard composer
1820 György Klapka Hungarian General/MP (Komárom-castle)
1822 Gershom Mott Major General (Union volunteers)
1826 Johann Hermann Berens composer
1841 Alfred Cogniaux Belgian botanicus
1841 Joseph H "Jozef" Neuhuys painter
1847 J P Jacobsen writer
1851 Otto Adolf Klauwell composer
1858 Adrien H Gerhard Dutch socialist politician (SDAP)
1859 Walter Camp Connecticut, father of American football (Yale)
1860 W K Kellogg a real corn flake
1869 David Grandison Fairchild US, botanist/explorer, brought plants to US
1870 Gustav Landauer German socialist
1870 Joseph Ryeland Belgian composer/Baron
1872 William Monroe Trotter famous African
1878 C M M Hathorn cricketer (South African Test centurion in 1905-06)
1878 Jozef C Bittremieux Flemish theologist (Virgin & Mother of God)
1882 Bert "Dainty" Ironmonger cricketer (belated Australian representative 1928-33)
1882 Kurt von Schleiger German chancellor (12/2/32-1/28/33)
1884 Charles Dodd English new testament authority
1884 Louis H N Bosch van Rosenthal Dutch politician/resistance fighter
1889 Gabriela Mistral Chilean poet (Desolación, Tenderness)/Nobel 1945
1890 Marjory Stoneman Douglas environmentalist (1st Lady of Everglades)
1893 Allan W Dulles US diplomat/CIA head 1953-61 (Germany's Underground)
1893 Irene Castle dancer (leader in anti-vivisection movement)
1894 Gerald Brenan English writer
1895 Eduardo Toldra composer
1895 Lewis B Combs naval commander/civil engineer
1896 Benny Leonard lightweight boxing champion (1917-25)
1897 Walter Winchell Harlem New York NY, newscaster/columnist (Untouchables)
1897 Harald Sigurd Johan Saeverud composer
1899 Robert Marcel Casadesus French pianist/composer (Prix Diémer)
19-- Elaine Miles actress (Marilyn-Northern Exposure)
19-- Morris Johnson Jr drag race car driver
19-- Shane rocker (Electric Angels-I Believe, Whiplash)
1900 Tebbs Lloyd Johnson England, 50K walker (Olympics-bronze-1952)
1903 Willi Forst Austrian actor/director (Im weissen Rössl)
1908 Percy Faith conductor (Summer Place)
1908 Le Duan Vietnamese politician
1912 John Adrian Hope politician/businessman
1912 Valère Depauw Flemish writer
1914 Sydney Thompson rock climber
1915 Billie Holiday [Eleanora Fagan] Philadelphia PA, singer (Ain't Nobody's Business)
1915 Henry Kuttner US, sci-fi author (Dark World, As You Were, Startling Worlds of Henry Kuttner)
1917 R G Armstrong Birmingham AL, actor (T.H.E. Cat)
1918 Peanuts Hucko Syracuse NY, dixieland clarinetist (Lawrence Welk Show)
1918 Ronald Howard Norwood England, actor (Naked Edge, Africa-Texas Style)
1918 C B Bertie Clarke cricketer (Barbados & West Indian leg-spinner)
1918 Peter Aryans [PCJ Vander] Dutch radio actor (Shoot Out)
1919 Edoardo Mangiarotti Italy, épée (Olympics-gold-1952)
1919 Ralph Flanagan Loraine OH, orchestra leader (Let's Dance)
1920 Ravi Shankar Benares India, sitar player (Sounds of India)
1920 Terence Edward Armstrong polar geographer
1922 Kenneth Howard Peacock composer
1924 Nick Perito Denver CO, orchestra leader (Don Knotts Show, Big Show)
1924 Harry Cordon comic/host (Fred Haché Show)
1924 Ikuma Dan composer
1926 Johannes Rood Dutch immunologist (Eurotransplant)
1928 Alan J Pakula director (All the President's Men, Klute)
1928 James [Scott Bumgarner] Garner Norman OK, actor (Rockford Files, Bret Maverick)
1928 James White UK, sci-fi author (Star Surgeon, Star Healer)
1930 Andrew Sachs actor (Manuel-Fawlty Towers)
1931 Donald Barthelme Philadelphia PA, writer (Snow White, Sadness)
1931 Daniel Ellsberg whistleblower (Pentagon Papers)/patriot
1932 Louis "Mr Bo" Collins Indianola MS, blues singer (If Trouble Was Money)
1933 Wayne Rogers Birmingham AL, actor (MASH, House Calls, Chiefs)
1934 Ian Richards Edinburgh Scotland, actor (Montgomery-Ike)
1935 Hodding Carter III press secretary (Jimmy Carter)
1935 Bobby Bare Irontown OH, country singer (Detroit City)
1935 Yvonne Fedderson co-founder (Childhelp USA)
1937 [Big] Charlie Thomas New York NY, jazz/rock singer (Drifters)
1938 Freddie Hubbard Indianapolis IN, jazz trumpeter (Art Blakey)
1938 Yvonne Lime Glendale CA, actress (Father Knows Best, Dobie Gillis)
1938 [Edmund G] Jerry Brown Jr San Francisco CA, (Governor-Democrat-CA, 1975-83)
1939 David Frost Tenderdon England, TV host (That Was the Week That Was)
1939 Donald L Holmquest Dallas TX, astronaut
1939 Francis Ford Coppola Detroit MI, film maker (Godfather, Apocalypse Now, American Graffiti)
1940 Jan Wilhelm Morthenson composer
1940 Patricia Paay Dutch singer (You are not hip)
1942 Edda Barends actress (Arthur & Eva)
1943 Roberta Shore [Schourup] Monterey Park CA, actress/singer (Virginian)
1943 Dennis Amiss cricketer (prolific English batsman)
1943 Mick Abrahams Luton Bedfordshire England, rock guitarist (Jethro Tull-This Was)
1943 Spencer Dryden New York NY, rock drummer (Jefferson Airplane-Go Ask Alice)
1946 Bill Kreutzmann Palo Alto CA, drummer (Grateful Dead, Grass Roots)
1946 Barbara Benary composer
1947 Patricia Bennett US singer (He's So Fine)
1949 John Oates guitarist/vocalist (Hall & Oates-Rich Girl)
1951 Janis Ian [Janis Eddy Fink] New York NY, folk singer (Society's Child, At 17)
1951 John Dittrich Union NJ, country singer (Restless Heart-Wheels)
1952 Bruce Gary Burbank CA, rock drummer (Knack-My Sharona)
1952 Jane Frederick US pentathlete (Olympics-7th-1976)
1953 Everard Endt US, yachting (Olympics-gold-1952)
1954 Donna White LPGA golfer
1954 Jackie Chan martial art actor (Rumble in the Bronx)
1954 Tony Dorsett NFL running back (Dallas Cowboys, Heisman Trophy)
1955 Andrea Fisher artist
1956 Gail Lee Hirata LPGA golfer
1958 Alexandra Neil Boston MA, actress (Rose-Guiding Light)
1958 Tony Ayre rocker (Adventures-Sea of Love)
1960 Simon Climie rock vocalist/keyboardist (Climie Fisher-Love Changes)
1962 Andy Hampsten Columbus OH, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1962 Bonny Warner Mount Baldy CA, lugist
1962 Hugh Edward Ralph O'Connor actor (In the Heat of the Night)
1964 Helen Wadsworth S Wales, golfer (Curtis Cup 1990)
1964 Joe Durant Pensacola FL, Nike golfer (1992 Boise Open-7th)
1965 Alexander Mronz Cologne Germany, tennis star
1965 Kaushik Amalean cricketer (two Tests for Sri Lanka 1986-88)
1966 Teri Ann Linn Honolulu HI, actress (Kristen-Bold & Beautiful)
1967 Steve Wisniewski NFL guard (Oakland Raiders)
1968 Bill Bellamy actor (Fled, How to be a Player, Joey Breaker)
1968 Don[ald] Smith North Tonawanda NY, rower (Olympics-5th-1996)
1969 Clark Sheehan Denver CO, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1969 Jeremy Lincoln NFL cornerback (Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks)
1969 Peggy Clasen St Paul MN, speed skater (Olympics-1994)
1969 Ricky Bones Salinas Puerto Rico, pitcher (Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees)
1969 Ricky Watters NFL running back (Philadelphia Eagles)
1970 Alexander Karpovtsev Moscow Russia, NHL defenseman (New York Rangers)
1970 Kevin Smith NFL cornerback (Dallas Cowboys)
1971 Cara Kendra Bernosky Miss Pennsylvania-USA (1997)
1971 Mark Thompson Russellville KY, pitcher (Colorado Rockies)
1971 Stephen Brimacombe Australian 100 meter/200 meter (Olympics-96)
1971 Victor Kraatz Berlin Germany, Canadian ice dancer (1995 World Champions-4th)
1972 Greg Clark tight end (San Francisco 49ers)
1972 Joanne Brown Australian softball catcher/1st baseman (Olympics-bronze-96)
1972 Lovett Purnell wide receiver (New England Patriots)
1972 Malcolm Huckaby NBA guard (Miami Heat)
1972 Shana Williams Bridgeton NJ, long jumper/heptathlete
1974 Anita Maxwell WNBA forward (Cleveland Rockers)
1975 Beverly Peele super model (Elle)
1975 Ronde Barber cornerback (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1975 Tiki Barber running back (New York Giants)
1975 Victoria Adams "Posh Spice", Hertfordshire, vocalist (Spice Girls)
1976 Erich Goldmann Dingolfing Germany, hockey defenseman (Team Germany 1998)
1978 Siobhan Drake-Brockman Bunbury Australia, tennis star (1994 Port Pirie)
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Deaths which occurred on April 07:

0030 Jesus crucified by Roman troops in Jerusalem (scholars' estimate, according to astronomer Schaefer)
0924 Berengarius I Emperor of Italy, murdered
1444 John Capreolus French theologist (Libri IV), dies at about 50
1498 Charles VIII King of France (1483-98), dies at 27
1524 Philip of Burgundy bishop of Utrecht, dies
1614 El Greco Spanish painter (View of Toledo), dies (birth date unknown)
1719 Jean-Baptiste de la Salle French priest/theory/saint, dies at 67
1766 Tiberius Hemsterhuis Dutch classicist, dies at 81
1767 Franz Sparry composer, dies at 51
1768 Michel Mathieu composer, dies at 78
1778 Johann Balthasar Kehl composer, dies at 52
1783 Ignaz Jakob Holzbauer composer, dies at 71
1789 Abdül-Hamid I 27th sultan of Turkey (1774-89), dies at 64
1789 Peter Camper anatomist/animal scholar, dies at 66
1803 [François Dominique] Toussaint L'Ouverture Haitian revolutionary, dies
1810 Pieter L van de Kasteele Dutch politician/patriot, dies at 61
1833 Antoni Henryk Radziwill Lithuanian/Polish composer, dies at 57
1842 Henrik A Bjerregaard Norwegian writer/poet (Fjeldeventyret), dies at 50
1850 William Lisle Bowles English poet (14 Sonnets), dies at 87
1858 Anton Diabelli Austria publisher/composer, dies at 76
1862 Sydney Nelson composer, dies at 62
1871 Alexander grandson of English queen Victoria, dies at 1 day old
1871 Wilhelm Freiherr von Tegetthoff Austrian Admiral (Helgoland/Lissa), dies at 43
1875 Georg Herwegh writer, dies at 57
1877 Errico Petrella composer, dies at 63
1880 Diederich Krug composer, dies at 58
1881 Pierre Napoleon Bonaparte Corsican MP, dies at 65
1884 Maria van Ackere-Doolaeghe Flemish poet (Avondlamp), dies at 80
1891 P[hineas] T Barnum US circus promoter (Barnum & Bailey), dies at 80
1917 Spyridon Filiskos Samaras composer, dies at 53
1932 Erv A Kelley US policeman, shot to death by Pretty Boy Floyd
1933 Jan Erik/Eric Jan Hanussen Berlin astrologist/illusionist, murdered
1934 William Monroe Trotter civil rights activist/journalist, dies on 62nd birthday in Boston
1943 Jovan Ducic Serbian poet (Blue Legends), dies at 72
1950 Walter Huston dies at 66
1955 Theda Bara actress (Camille, Cleopatra, 2 Orphans), dies at 62
1958 Judge Jackson composer, dies at 75
1958 Klimenty Arkad'yevich Korchmaryov composer, dies at 58
1961 Marian Jordan radio comedienne (Fibber McGee & Molly), dies at 62
1961 Jesus Guridi composer, dies at 74
1961 Yusef Greiss composer, dies at 61
1967 Anne Morrison Chapin dies in West Hollywood
1968 Jim Clark of Scotland, former world driving champion, dies in race car at 32
1970 Josina Machel wife of Mozambique's 1st President Samora Machel, dies
1971 Charles F Pahud de Mortanges (Olympics-gold-1928, 32), dies at 74
1972 "Crazy" Joe Gallo mobster, killed at his 43rd birthday party
1972 Abeid Karume Tanzanian sheik/President, murdered
1972 Victor Wong actor (Mission to Moscow, King Kong) dies at 65
1973 Nick Stuart bandleader, dies of cancer at 69
1976 Mary Margaret McBride TV hostess (Mary Margaret McBride), dies at 76
1977 Siegfried Buback German Federal Republic procureur-General, murdered Attorney-General
1978 Ernest Kanitz composer, dies at 83
1979 Bruno Apitz writer, dies at 78
1982 Brenda Benet actress (Track of Thunder), commits suicide by gun at 36
1983 Gavin Gordon television actor (Romance, Lone Cowboy), dies at 82
1984 Samuel G Engel screenwriter/poet, dies of heart failure at 79
1984 Frank Church (Senator-Democrat-OH, 1957-81), dies at 59
1987 Maxine Sullivan [Williams] American actress (Going Places), dies at 75
1988 Cesar Bresgen Austrian composer/organist, dies at 74
1989 Tikhon Toropets patriarch of Russian Orthodox/saint, dies at 123(?)
1992 Alix Talton former Miss Georgia, dies of lung cancer at 72
1992 Clovis Ruffin fashion designer (T shirt dress), dies of AIDS at 46
1992 Rick Emery dies after long illness at 39
1993 Max Croiset Dutch actor/dramatist/director (Zeekant), dies at 80
1993 Richard Schmiechen dies of AIDS at 45
1993 S C (Billy) Griffith cricketer (England 1948-49, MCC secretary), dies
1994 Agathe Uwilingiyimana PM of Rwanda, assassinated
1994 Angelus Gottfried "Golo" Mann German/US historian, dies at 85
1994 Arthur Gordon Clough journalist, dies at 59
1994 Evert Hartman Dutch writer (War Without Friends), dies at 56
1994 François de Grossouvre President Mitterrand advisor, suicide at 76
1994 Kurt Cobain grunge rocker (Nirvana), commits suicide by gun at 27
1994 Lee Brilleaux British R&B-singer/guitarist (Stupidity), dies at 41
1995 Philip Vincent Belloc Jebb architect, dies at 68
1996 Ian Spurling ballet designer, dies at 59

BB-39 USS ARIZONA- 04-07-2006
1776 U.S. Navy captures first British warship

On this day in 1776, Navy Captain John Barry, commander of the American warship Lexington, makes the first American naval capture of a British vessel when he takes command of the British warship HMS Edward off the coast of Virginia. The capture of the Edward and its cargo turned Captain Barry into a national hero and boosted the morale of the Continental forces.

Barry was born in the seaboard county of Wexford, Ireland, in 1745 and offered his services to the Continental Congress upon the outbreak of the American Revolution. Congress purchased Barry’s ship, Black Prince, which it renamed Alfred and placed under the command of Commodore Esek Hopkins. It was the first ship to fly the American flag, raised by John Paul Jones.

Barry served with distinction throughout the American Revolution. At sea, he had continued success with the Lexington. On land, he raised a volunteer force to assist General Washington in the surprisingly successful Trenton, New Jersey, campaign of 1776-77. On May 29, 1781, Barry was wounded while successfully capturing the HMS Atlanta and the HMS Trepassy while in command of a new ship, Alliance. He recovered and successfully concluded the final naval battle of the Revolutionary War with a victory over the HMS Sybylle in March 1783.

Barry’s outstanding career has been memorialized on both sides of the Atlantic. A bridge bearing his name crosses the Delaware River, and Brooklyn, New York, is home to a park named for him. In addition, four U.S. Navy ships and a building at Villanova University carry his name, and statues in his honor stand in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and his birthplace, Wexford, Ireland. On September 13, 1981, President Ronald Reagan declared “Commodore John Barry Day” to honor a man he called “one of the earliest and greatest American patriots, a man of great insight who perceived very early the need for American power on the sea.”
_________________________________________________________________

1862 Battle of Shiloh concludes

Two days of heavy fighting conclude near Pittsburgh Landing in western Tennessee. The Battle of Shiloh became a Union victory after the Confederate attack stalled on April 6, and fresh Yankee troops drove the Confederates from the field on April 7.

Shiloh began when Union General Ulysses S. Grant brought his army down the Tennessee River to Pittsburgh landing in an effort to move on Corinth, Mississippi, 20 miles to the southwest. Union occupation of Corinth, a major rail center, would allow the Yankees to control nearly all of western Tennessee. At Corinth, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston did not wait for Grant to attack. He moved his army toward Grant, striking on the morning of April 6. Throughout the day, the Confederates drove the Yankees back but could not break the Union lines before darkness halted the advance. Johnston was killed during the first day, so General Pierre G. T. Beauregard assumed command of the Confederate force.

Now, Grant was joined by the vanguard of Buell's army. With an advantage in terms of troop numbers, Grant counterattacked on April 7. The tired Confederates slowly retreated, but they inflicted frightful casualties on the Yankees. By nightfall, the Union had driven the Confederates back to Shiloh Church, recapturing such grisly reminders of the previous days' battle such as the Hornets' Nest, the Peach Orchard, and Bloody Pond. The Confederates finally limped back to Corinth, thus giving a major victory to Grant.

The cost of the victory was high. Grant's and Buell's forces totaled about 62,000, of which 1,754 were killed, 8,408 were wounded, and 2,885 were captured or missing for a total of 13,047 casualties. Of 45,000 Confederates engaged, 1,723 were killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing for a total of 10,694 casualties. The 23,741 casualties were five times the number at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, and they were more than all of the war's major battles (Bull Run, Wilson's Creek, Fort Donelson, and Pea Ridge) to that date combined. It was a sobering reminder to all in the Union and the Confederacy that the war would be long and costly.
__________________________________________________________________

1918 Winston Churchill urges talks with Russia

One month after Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, formally ending its participation in World War I, Winston Churchill secretly proposes to the British War Cabinet a method by which Britain’s former ally could be persuaded to reenter the war.

Russia’s withdrawal from the war was a direct result of the sweeping revolution of 1917 that brought the abdication of Czar Nicholas II in March and the rise to power of the radical socialist Vladimir Lenin and his followers, the Bolsheviks, in November. The departure left the other Allies reeling, as they assumed (correctly) that Germany, freed from its struggle in the east, would launch a renewed, potentially devastating, initiative on the Western Front.

Churchill, a former first lord of the Admiralty who had been forced to resign for his role in the disastrous Allied campaign at the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915, had returned to London after a stint spent serving in a battalion on the Western Front to become the minister of munitions in Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s cabinet. In his note to the War Cabinet of April 7, 1918, Churchill suggested that a prominent and well-respected representative of the Allies—perhaps former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt—should be dispatched to Russia to negotiate with the Bolsheviks a plan to reopen the Eastern Front.

In these negotiations, Churchill wanted Britain, France and the United States to offer support to the Bolsheviks in their efforts to overcome internal opposition to their regime in Russia. “Let us never forget,” Churchill reminded his colleagues, “that Lenin and Trotsky [Leon Trotsky, the Bolsheviks’ foreign minister] are fighting with ropes round their necks. They will leave office for the grave. Show them any real chance of consolidating their power, of getting some kind of protection against the vengeance of a counter-revolution, and they would be non-human not to embrace it.” The future prime minister and legendary statesman later proved to be an avid anti-Bolshevik and steadfast supporter of the White (opposition) forces in Russia in the post-World War I years; thus his April 1918 plan, which was not put into practice by his superiors, was a clear manifestation of his all-consuming drive to achieve victory for the Allies.
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1939 Italy invades Albania

On this day in 1939, in an effort to mimic Hitler's conquest of Prague, Benito Mussolini's troops, though badly organized, invade and occupy Albania.

Although the invasion of Albania was intended as but a prelude to greater conquests in the Balkans, it proved a costly enterprise for Il Duce. Albania was already dependent on Italy's economy, so had little to offer the invaders. And future exploits in neighboring nations, in Greece in particular, proved to be disastrous for the Italians.
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1945 Japanese battleship Yamato is sunk by Allied forces

On this day in 1945, the Japanese battleship Yamato, ostensibly the greatest battleship in the world, is sunk in Japan's first major counteroffensive in the struggle for Okinawa.

Weighing 72,800 tons and outfitted with nine 18.1-inch guns, the battleship Yamato was Japan's only hope of destroying the Allied fleet off the coast of Okinawa. But insufficient air cover and fuel cursed the endeavor as a suicide mission. Struck by 19 American aerial torpedoes, it was sunk, drowning 2,498 of its crew.
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1975 North Vietnamese forces begin preparations for final offensive

North Vietnamese forces prepare to launch the "Ho Chi Minh Campaign," designed to set the conditions for a final communist victory in South Vietnam. By this time, well over two-thirds of South Vietnam was under communist control as South Vietnamese forces had fallen back in panic when the North Vietnamese pressed the attack.

The Ho Chi Minh Campaign offensive was the final phase of the North Vietnamese plan to defeat South Vietnam. Despite the imposition of a cease-fire by the terms of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, fighting had continued between South Vietnamese forces and the North Vietnamese troops left in South Vietnam at the end of the 1972 Easter Offensive. In December 1974, the North Vietnamese launched a major attack against the lightly defended province of Phuoc Long, located north of Saigon along the Cambodian border. They overran the provincial capital at Phuoc Binh on January 6, 1975.

President Richard Nixon had repeatedly promised South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu that the United States would come to the aid of South Vietnam if the North Vietnamese violated the Peace Accords in a major way. However, by the time the communists captured Phuoc Long, Nixon had resigned from office and his successor, Gerald Ford, was unable to convince a hostile Congress to make good on Nixon's promises to Saigon.

This situation emboldened the North Vietnamese, who launched Campaign 275 in March 1975, to capture the provincial capital of Ban Me Thuot (Darlac province) in the Central Highlands. The South Vietnamese defenders fought very poorly and were quickly overwhelmed by the North Vietnamese attackers. The United States did nothing. Stunned by the lack of response from Washington, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered his forces in the Highlands to withdraw to more defensible positions to the south. What started out as a reasonably orderly withdrawal soon degenerated into a panic that spread throughout the South Vietnamese armed forces. They abandoned Pleiku and Kontum with very little fighting and the North Vietnamese pressed the attack from the west and north. In quick succession, Quang Tri, Hue, and Da Nang in the north fell to the communist onslaught. The North Vietnamese continued to attack south along the coast, defeating the South Vietnamese forces at each encounter.

As the North Vietnamese forces closed on the approaches to Saigon, the politburo in Hanoi issued an order to Gen. Van Tien Dung to launch the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the final assault on Saigon itself. Dung ordered his forces into position for the final battle. The South Vietnamese 18th Division made a valiant final stand at Xuan Loc, 40 miles northeast of Saigon, in which the South Vietnamese soldiers destroyed three of Dung's divisions. After a week, however, the South Vietnamese succumbed to the North Vietnamese. By April 27, the North Vietnamese had completely encircled Saigon and began to maneuver for their final assault. By the morning of April 30, it was all over. When the North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the South Vietnamese surrendered. The Vietnam War was over.

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