On This Day in History......

1195 Alexius III Angelus drives out brother Isaäk II as Byzantine emperor
1341 Francesco Petrarca crowned in Rome
1378 Bartolomeo Prignano elected as Pope Urban VI
1455 Alfonso de Borgia elected as Pope Callistus III
1500 Battle at Novara King Louis XII beats duke Ludovico Sforza
1716 Duke Karel Leopold of Mecklenburg-Schwerin signs covenant with Russia & marries Czar Peter the Great's niece
1730 1st Jewish congregation in US consecrates synagogue, "Shearith Israel, NYC"
1759 British troops chase French out of Masulipatam India
1766 1st fire escape patented, wicker basket on a pulley & chain
1781 Premiere of Mozart's violin sonata K379
1783 Catharina II of Russia annexes the Krim
1789 House of Representives 1st meeting
1801 Soldiers riot in Bucharest, kill 128 Jews
1802 French Protestant church becomes state-supported & -controlled
1832 Charles Darwin begins trip through Rio de Janeiro
1838 Steamship "Great Western" maiden voyage (Bristol England to New York NY)
1848 1st battle at Gioto Sardinia-Piemonte beats Austrians
1848 Battle at Xaquixaguana, Peru Pedro de la Gasca beats Gonzalo Pizarro
1861 US mint at Dahlonega GA seized by confederacy
1862 John D Lynde patents aerosol dispenser
1864 Battle of Mansfield, La Federals routed by General Richard Taylor
1865 General Robert E Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House in Virginia
1869 American Museum of Natural History opens (New York NY)
1876 Amiliare Ponchielli's opera "La Gioconda", premieres in Milan
1879 Khedive Ismael of Egypt fires French/British ministers
1879 Milk is sold in glass bottles for 1st time
1893 The Critic reports that the ice cream soda is our national drink
1898 Battle of Atbara River, Anglo-Egyptian forces crush 6,000 Sudanese
1904 Great Britain & France sign Cordial Entente concerning colonial matter
1908 Lord Herbert Henry Asquith succeeds Henry Campbell-Bannerman as British Prime Minister
1912 Steamers collide in the Nile, drowning 200
1913 17th amendment, requiring direct election of senators, ratified
1913 Opening of China's 1st parliament takes place in Peking (now Beijing)
1914 US & Colombia sign a treaty concerning the Panamá Canal Zone
1916 Norway approves active & passive female suffrage
1920 LONGA soccer team forms in Tilburg
1931 "White Horse Inn" opens in London
1931 Dmitri Shostakovich's ballet "The Arrow", premieres
1933 Manchester Guardian warns of unknown nazi terror
1935 Works Progress Administration approved by Congress
1935 2nd Golf Masters Championship Gene Sarazen wins, shooting a 282
1935 Bartóks 5th String quartet premieres in Washington DC
1939 ACV soccer team forms in Axes
1939 King Zog I of Albania, flees
1940 Germany battle cruisers sink British aircraft carrier Glorious
1941 Joe Louis TKOs Tony Musto in 9 for heavyweight boxing title
1942 A Schoenberg & Tudor's ballet "Pillar of Fire", premieres in NYC
1943 Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya convicted of involvement with Mau Mau
1943 Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, founder of Sanbo Kyodan, receives dharma
1943 Stanley Cup Detroit Red Wings sweep Boston Bruins in 4 games
1945 Nazi occupiers executed, Nazi General Christiansen flees Netherlands
1946 League of Nations assembles for last time
1947 Largest recorded sunspot (7,000) observed
1948 Soen Nakagawa & Nyogen Senzaki (Zen teachers) meet in San Francisco
1950 "Miss Liberty" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 308 performances
1952 President Harry Truman seizes the steel mills to prevent a strike
1953 Dag Hammarskjöld chosen as Secretary-General of UN
1954 "By the Beautiful Sea" opens at the Majestic Theater on Broadway for 270 performances
1956 20th Golf Masters Championship Jack Burke Jr wins, shooting a 289
1956 6 marine recruits drown during exercise at Paradise Island SC
1956 M Bandaranaike's People's front wins election in Ceylon
1960 Netherlands & Germany sign accord concerning war casualties
1961 British liner "Dara" explodes in Persian Gulf, kills 236
1961 "Show Girl" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 100 performances
1962 Accords of Evian (Algeria) accepted by referendum in France
1963 35th Academy Awards - "Lawrence of Arabia", Anne Bancroft & Gregory Peck win
1963 Tigers claim young pitcher Denny McLain from the White Sox for $25,000
1964 Unmanned Gemini 1 launched
1966 AFL chooses 36 year old Al Davis as commissioner
1966 OAO 1, the 1st orbiting astronomical observatory, is launched
1966 Leonid Brezhnev elected Secretary-General of communist party
1968 New socialist constitution of East Germany takes effect
1968 40th Academy Awards postponed to April 10th due to death of Martin Luther King Jr
1968 Baseball's Opening Day is postponed because of Martin Luther King Jr assassination
1968 Czechoslovakia Cernik government forms
1968 WKPI TV channel 22 in Pikeville KY (PBS) begins broadcasting
1969 1st Baseball game in Canada - Montréal Expos beats New York Mets 10-9
1969 Expansion teams Royals, Expos, Padres & Pilots win their 1st games
1970 Senate rejects Nixon's nomination of Carswell to Supreme Court
1970 "Cry for Us All" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 8 performances
1971 1st legal off-track betting system begins (OTB-New York)
1972 Alvin Kallicharran scores 100 in his 1st Test Cricket innings vs New Zealand
1974 Discovery Island opens
1974 Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits 715th homerun, breaks Babe Ruth's record
1975 47th Academy Awards - "Godfather II", Ellen Burstyn & Art Carney win
1975 Frank Robinson debuts as 1st black baseball manager (Cleveland, beats New York 5-3)
1977 Israel premier Yitzhak Rabin resigns
1979 204th & final episode of "All in the Family"
1979 "Carmelina" opens at St James Theater NYC for 17 performances
1979 8th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Sandra Post
1979 People's Republic of China joins IOC
1980 Islander Potvin's 2 shorthanded goals tie NHL record vs Kings & set NHL record of 2 shorthanded playoff goals in 1 period
1981 Islanders score 9 goals against Toronto in playoffs
1982 Pittsburgh Penguins 2-New York Islanders 4-Preliminary; Islanders hold 2-0 lead
1982 Tracy Caulkins (19) wins her 36th US swimming title
1984 13th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Juli Inkster
1984 4th Golden Raspberry Awards Lonely Lady wins
1985 India files suit against Union Carbide over Bhopal disaster
1985 "Leader of the Pack" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 120 performances
1985 Amdahl releases UTS/V, 1st mainframe Unix
1986 Clint Eastwood elected mayor of Carmel CA
1988 Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart, 52, was defrocked by the Assemblies of God following the disclosure of his involvement with a prostitute. (Swaggart was ordered to stay off TV for a year, but had returned after only three months.)
1989 Entertainment Tonight's Mary Hart marries producer Burt Sugarman
1989 1-handed pitcher Jim Abbott debut but lasts only 4 2/3 innings
1990 "Twin Peaks" with Peggy Lipton premieres on ABC-TV
1990 "Aspects of Love" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 377 performances
1990 54th Golf Masters Championship Nick Faldo wins, shooting a 278
1990 King Birendra of Nepal lifts 30-year ban on political parties
1990 Kris Monaghan wins LPGA Red Robin Kyocera Inamori Golf Classic
1990 Norwegian Scandinavian Star catches fire; about 170 die
1991 Michael Landon announces he has inoperable cancer of the pancreas
1991 Oakland A's Stadium becomes 1st outdoor arena to ban smoking
1991 "I Hate Hamlet" opens at Walter Kerr Theater NYC for 88 performances
1991 Jockey Bill Shoemaker paralyzed in a car accident
1991 Major league umpires & baseball reach a 4-year agreement
1992 "Five Guys Named Moe" opens at Eugene O'Neill theater on Broadway for 445 performances
1992 After 151 years Britain's "Punch Magazine" final issue
1993 Indians' Carlos Baerga is 1st to switch hit homeruns in same inning (vs Yankees)
1993 STS-56 (Discovery) launches into orbit
1994 Atlanta Brave Kent Mercker no-hits Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-0
1994 Darryl Strawberry enters Betty Ford clinic
1994 Japan's premier Morihiro Hosokawa resigns
1994 Smoking banned in Pentagon & all US military bases
1995 BPAA US Open won by Dave Husted
1995 Oliver McCall beats Larry Holmes in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
1996 Bruce Seldon TKOs Tony Tucker in 7 to win vacated WBA boxing title
1997 Microsoft Corp releases Internet Explorer 4.0
1997 STS 83 (Columbia 22), lands
2001 65th Golf Masters Championship
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Missing In Action........

1962 GROOM GEORGE E. STEWARTSVILLE MO 05/01/62 RELEASED
1962 GABRIEL JAMES JR HONOLULU HI 04/62 REMAINS RECOVERED
1962 MARCHAND WAYNE ELLSWORTH OMAHA NE 04/68 REMAINS RECOVERED
1962 QUINN FRANCIS BUFFALO NY 05/01/62 RELEASED
1970 BELLENDORF DIETER GERMANY REFNO 1589 SP BALLINDORF?
1970 GENSLUCKNER GEORG AUSTRIA
1970 YIENG UNG LING CAMBODIA REFNO 1589
1972 RAY JOHNNIE L. PAULS VALLEY OK 02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG
1972 WANAT GEORGE K. JR. WATERFFORD CN 02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG

Births which occurred on April 08:

0563 -BC- Gautama Buddha (as celebrated in Japan-Kambutsue)
1460 Ponce de León San Tervas de Campos Spain, Spanish conqueror/explorer, searched for fountain of youth, found Florida
1533 Claudio Merulo organist/composer
1582 Phienas Fletcher poet
1605 Philip IV king of Spain & Portugal (1621-65)
1605 Louis de Vadder Flemish painter
1614 El Greco [Domenikos Theotokopoulos] Iráklion Crete Greece, painter (View of Toledo)
1631 Cornelis de Heem painter
1642 Gerard Callenbach Dutch Admiral
1655 Louis Willem I Margrave (Baden-Baden)
1692 Giuseppe Tartini Italy, violinist/composer (Trillo del Diavolo)
1695 Johann C Günther writer
1697 Pierre Prowo composer
1708 Georg Zarth composer
1726 Lewis Morris Bronx NY, US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence)
1731 William Williams Lebanon CT, US merchant (signed Declaration of Independence)
1741 José B da Gama Portuguese poet (O Uraguai)
1756 Joseph Gehot composer
1775 Adam A earl von Neipperg Austrian General/Napoleon's wife Marie lover
1776 Thaddaus Weigl composer
1783 John Claudius London England, horticulturist
1798 Dionysios Solomos poet
1816 Frederick William Burton painter
1818 Christaan IX king of Denmark (1863-1906)
1828 George Baird Hodge Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
1831 Allard Pierson Dutch theologiost/philosopher/art historian/poet
1832 Alfred von Waldersee Prussian fieldmarshal
1843 Asger Hamerik [Hammerich], composer
1850 William Henry Welch US, pathologist, founded John Hopkins
1859 Edmund Husserl Germany, philosopher (founded Phenomenology)
1869 Harvey Cushing US, neurosurgeon (blood pressure studies)
1875 Albert I von Saksen-Coburg king of Belgium (1909-34)
1878 Rudolf Nelson composer
1880 Victor Schertzinger composer/director (Uptown NY)
1881 Fernand Lamy composer
1885 Dimitrios Levidis composer
1886 Margaret A Barnes writer
1887 Walter Connolly Cincinnati OH, actor (Good Earth, 5th Avenue Girl)
1889 Sir Adrian Boult Chester England, conductor (BBC Symphony Orchestra)
1892 Richard J Neutra Austrian/US architect (Who Built America?)
1893 Mary Pickford [Gladys Louise Smith] Toronto Ontario Canada, actress (Poor Little Rich Girl, Daddy Long Legs)
1893 Grace Cunard Columbus OH, silent screen actress (Resurrection)
1893 Henri Puvrez Belgian sculptor (Sereniteit)
1895 Bert I[ra] Gordon Kenosha WI, diector/producer (Empire of the Ants, Magic Sword, Amazing Colossal Man)
1895 Sigurdur Thordarson composer
1896 Karl Hermann Pillney composer
1897 Herbert Eimert German composer/musicologist (Glockenspiel)
1898 E Y "Yip" Harburg [Isidore Hochberg], lyricist/librettist
1898 Achiel H Acker Belgian premier (1945-46, 1954-58)
1898 Cecil [Maurice] Bowra British classics expert (Greek experience)
1902 Josef Krips Vienna Austria, conductor (London Symphony 1954-63)
1902 Arthur Wellard cricketer (big hitting Somerset & England batsman)
1903 Ilka Chase New York NY, actress (Masquerade Party, Trials of O'Brien)
1904 John Antill composer
1904 John R Hicks British economist (Nobel 1972)
1905 George Baxter Paris France, actor (Flying Saucer, Lili, Caged)
1905 Hans Scherfig Danish marxist/writer (Idealister, Frydenholm)
1905 Helen B M Fennell Joseph anti-apartheid writer (Side by Side)
1905 Pierre Wigny Belgian minister of Foreign affairs (1958-61) [or 4/18]
1906 Charles J B Jonckheere Flemish poet/writer (Mirror of the Sea)
1907 Maurice Stacey chemist
1908 Neil Lawson British high court judge
1909 George Dixon trumpet/sax
1909 Olavi Pesonen composer
1909 William James Millar Mackenzie political scientist
1910 George Musso NFL guard (Chicago Bears)
1910 Wendell Bill cricketer (New South Wales bat 1929-36 Century on debut 1930)
1911 Douglas Hyde socialist/Christian
1911 Émile Michel Cioran Romania, writer (The Trouble With Being Born, Anathemas and Admirations)
1911 Melvin Calvin US chemist (photosynthesis, Nobel 1961)
1912 Sonja Henie Oslo Norway, ice skater/actress (Olympics-gold-1928,32,36)
1912 Josef Gabcík Czechoslovakia, resistance fighter (attacked Heydrich)
1913 H Ernst bishop (Breda Netherlands)
1914 John Cameron cricketer (brother of Jimmy, West Indies vice-captain 1939 England tour)
1919 [Douglas] Ian Smith premier of Rhodesia (1964-..)
1920 Carmen [Mercedes] McRae New York NY, US jazz singer/pianist (Downbeat's New Star of 1954)
1920 Erik Pausin Austria, figure skating pairs (Olympics-silver-1936)
1921 Alfie Bass London England, actor (Moonraker, Are You Being Served)
1921 Betty [Bloomer] Ford 1st lady (1975-76)/namesake for Betty Ford Clinic
1921 Jan Novak composer
1921 Virginia O'Brien Los Angeles CA, actress/singer (Gus, Ziegfeld Follies, Thousands Cheer)
1923 Edward Mulhare Cork Ireland, actor (Daniel Gregg-Ghost & Mrs Muir)
1923 Franco Corelli Ancona Italy, tenor (Don José-Carmen)
1925 Shecky Greene Chicago IL, comedian/actor (Love Machine, Combat)
1928 Eric Porter London England, actor (Antony & Cleopatra, 39 Steps)
1928 John Gavin Los Angeles CA, actor (Back Street, Psycho, Murder for Sale)
1928 Mary Zeldenrust-Noordanus CEO (NVSH)
1928 Monty Sunshine jazz bandleader (Gotta Travel On)
1929 Jacques Brel Brussels Belgium, songwriter/singer/actor (Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Pain in the A__)
1929 Renzo de Felice historian
1929 Walter Berry Austria singer/ex husband of Christa Ludwig
1929 William K Everson film historian
1930 Dorothy Tutin London England, actress (Importance of Being Earnest, Cromwell)
1930 John Bartholomew Tucker Pennsylvania, TV host (Candid Camera, Treasure Island)
1930 John Reardon New York NY, baritone (Falke-Die Fledermaus)
1930 Mary Moore principal (St Hilda's College, Oxford)
1930 Julien Van Remoortere [Piet Mortelman], Flemish writer (Fist)
1932 John Gavin Los Angeles CA, actor (Felony, Jennifer, House of Shadows)
1933 Fred Ebb lyricist (Cabaret)
1933 Jaroslav Smolka composer
1935 Donald Thompsett cricket umpire
1935 Albert G Bustamante (Representative-Democrat-TX, 1985- )
1935 Elizabeth Barrett-Connor epidemiologist (Living legacy award-1984)
1936 Klaus Lowitsch Berlin, actor (Despair, Marriage of Marla Braun)
1937 Seymour Hersh award winning investigative reporter (New York Times)
1937 Ronald Anthony "Tony" Clegg property trader
1938 Lory Patrick Beckley WV, actress (Trina-Tales of Wells Fargo)
1938 Barton Keith McLean composer
1938 Mohammad Farooq cricketer (Pakistani pace bowler in 7 Tests 1960-65)
1940 John Havlicek Martin's Ferry OH, NBA hall-of-famer (Boston Celtics)
1941 Peggy Lennon Los Angeles CA, singer (Lennon Sisters)
1942 Douglas Trumbull director (Silent Running, Brainstorm)
1942 Eduard Visser Dutch writer (Fyffes are now called Chiquita)
1943 J P Kavanaugh racehorse trainer
1943 Michael Bennett aids victim/choreographer (A Chorus Line)
1943 Robby Weaver actor (Stone)
1943 Tony Banks English politician (Labour Party)
1943 William Garth Morrison Chief scout
1943 Carol Lavell Fairfax VT, equestrian dressage (Olympics-bronze-92, 96)
1944 Anthony Farrar Hockley military historian
1944 Roger Chapman Leicester Leicestershire England, rock vocalist (Family-Family Entertainment)
1944 Christoph Hein Heinzendorf Silesia (now in Poland), writer
1944 Hywel Bennett South Wales, actor (Family Way, Shelley)
1944 Santiago Jimenez Jr US accordionist (El Mero Mero, Viva Seguin)
1945 Ian White Member of European Parliament for Bristol
1946 Jim "Catfish" Hunter major-league pitcher (A's, Yankees)
1946 Stuart Pankin Philadelphia PA, comedian (Striptease, Congo, Earl-Dinosaurs)
1947 Cindy Pickett Norman OK, actress (Guiding Light, St Elsewhere)
1947 Peter Banks England, guitarist (Yes)
1947 Steve Howe London England, rock guitarist (Asia, Yes-Roundabout)
1947 Gerald McRaney Collins MS, actor (Rick-Simon & Simon, Major Dad)
1947 Hsiao-hsien Hou director (Cheerful Wind, City of Sadness, Puppetmaster)
1947 Thomas D Delay (Representative-Republican-TX, 1985- )
1948 Richard Alan Litchfield Massachusetts, bank robber (FBI most wanted)
1949 Jim Lampley Hendersonville NC, newscaster (Monday Night Baseball)
1951 Mel Schachter rocker (Grand Funk Railroad)
1952 Adam Woods rock drummer/pianist (Fixx)
1954 Gary Carter catcher (Montréal Expos, New York Mets)
1954 John Schneider Mount Kisco NY, actor (Bo-Dukes of Hazzard)
1955 John Campbell harness racer (3-time winner of Hambletonian)
1957 Michael Spound Santa Monica CA, actor (Dave-Hotel)
1959 Martin John Weston Worcester England, cricketer
1959 Franklyn Stephenson cricketer (great all-rounder)
1962 Izzy Stradlin [Jeff Isabelle] Lafayette IN, guitarist (Guns N' Roses-Welcome to the Jungle)
1963 Julian Lennon Liverpool England, John's son/singer (Too Late for Goodbyes)/subject of Beatles' "Hey Jude"
1963 Alec James Stewart Merton England, cricketer (son of Mickey/opening bat/occasional wicket keeper)
1963 Erica Terwillegar Nelsonville NJ, lugist
1963 Terry Porter NBA guard (Minnesota Timberwolves)
1964 Biz Markie rocker (Meteor Man, Townsend Television)
1964 Valinda Hilleary Littleton CO, WPVA volleyballer (US Open-9th-1993)
1966 Robin [Virginia] Wright Penn Dallas TX, actress (Jenny-Forrest Gump, Kelly-Santa Barbara, Princess Bride)
1967 Kenneth [Kenny] Charlie Griffith Benjamin St John's Antigua, cricketer (West Indies like his namesake)
1968 Don Davey NFL defensive tackle (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1968 Patricia Arquette New York NY, actress (Ed Wood, Nightmare on Elm Street 3)
1969 Steve Jackson NFL cornerback (Houston/Tennessee Oilers)
1970 Derek D Brown Washington DC, team handball right wing (Olympics-1996)
1970 Gerald Vaughn CFL defensive back (Hamilton Tiger Cats)
1970 Harold Bishop NFL tight end (Cleveland Browns)
1971 Edward Fryatt Rochdale England, Nike golfer (1994 NCAA West Regional)
1971 Marc Peers Edmonton Alberta, tornado yachter (Olympics-96)
1972 Damon Watts NFL center (Indianapolis Colts)
1972 Isaac Davis NFL guard (San Diego Chargers)
1972 Katrina Powell Canberra Australia, field hockey striker (Olympics-96)
1973 Alex Gonzalez Miami FL, infielder (Toronto Blue Jays)
1973 Joel Davis guard (Cincinnati Bengals)
1973 Walter Nicholas Henry Tongue Auckland New Zealand, 50 meter/100 meter swimmer (Olympics-96)
1976 Jim Farnum Honolulu HI, kayak (alternate-Olympics-96)
1981 Rebecca Wilson Queensland Australia, gymnast (Olympics-96)
1984 Taran Noah Smith San Francisco CA, actor (Mark Taylor-Home Improvement)
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Deaths which occurred on April 08:
0217 Caracalla [Marcus Aurelius Antoniius] Roman emperor (198-217), murdered at 29
1143 John II Comnenus Emperor of Byzantium (1118-43), dies in an accident
1364 Jan II the Good, King of France (1350-64), dies at 44
1492 Lorenzo I de' Medici"il Magnifico" ruler of Florence (1469-92), dies
1498 Charles VIII King of France (1483-98), beheaded at 27
1537 Willem Aerts Flemish architect, dies
1629 Willem Teellinck Dutch theologist/vicar, dies at 50
1697 Niels Juel Danish Admiral (Oland, Moen, Kjögebocht), dies at 67
1736 Pedro Vaz Rego composer, dies at 63
1759 François de La Croix composer, dies at 76
1778 Pieter Teyler van der Hulst Dutch founder (Teyler Museum), dies at 76
1794 Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicholas-Caritat mathematician dies
1844 Ignaz Franz von Mosel composer, dies at 72
1848 Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti Italian composer, dies at 50
1851 John Parry composer, dies at 75
1853 Jan W Pieneman historical painter (Battle at Waterloo), dies at 73
1858 Anton Diabelli Austrian composer/publisher, dies at 76
1861 Elisha G Otis US elevator builder (Otis), dies at 50
1863 Joseph Netherclift composer, dies at 70
1865 John Park composer, dies at 61
1870 Charles-Auguste de Beriot Belgian violinist/composer, dies at 68
1871 Charles-Louis Hanssens composer, dies at 68
1889 Henry Jupp cricketer (scored 63 on Test debut for England in 1877), dies
1890 Junius Morgan philanthropist, dies at 76
1894 Bankim C Chattopadhyaya writer (Mrinalini, Anandamath), dies at 55
1897 Heinrich von Stephan UK politician, dies
1897 George Garrett composer, dies at 62
1902 Sipyagain Russian minister of interior/headed Secret Service, assassinated
1914 Jakub Arbes Czechoslovakia, author (Andél Miru), dies at 73
1919 Roland baron Eötvös Hungarian physicist, dies at 70
1920 Charles Tomlinson Griffes US composer (White Peacock), dies at 35
1921 Earnest von Possart German actor/stage manager, dies
1931 Eric Axel Karlfeldt poet, dies
1935 Edwin Cannan economist, dies
1937 Arthur William Foote US organist/composer, dies at 84
1937 William Henry Hadow composer (Studies in Modern Music), dies at 77
1938 Harold Baumgartner cricketer (took 2-99 lefty in test for S Af), dies
1941 Eugène-Marcel Prévost novelist, dies
1942 Alfred Mombert writer, dies
1943 Richard Sears 1st to win US amateur national tennis match, dies at 81
1943 Paul Colin Belgian journalist/collaborator, executed
1947 Henry Ford US industrialist (Ford cars), dies
1948 Josef B Kjellgren Swedish writer (Guldkedjan), dies at 40
1950 Albert Ehrenstein Austria writer (Strum), dies at 63
1950 Vaslav Fromich Nijinsky Ukrainian ballet dancer, dies in London
1957 Frank Chester cricketer (distinguished 1-armed England Test ump), dies
1959 Gustave Charlier Belgian literature historian, dies
1963 Len Tuckett cricketer (no runs no wickets in 1 Test for S A), dies
1965 Erik A Blomberg Swedish art historian/poet/author, dies at 70
1965 Jack Durston cricketer (one Test for England, 4-102 & 1-34), dies
1965 Lars Hanson Swedish actor (Flesh & Devil), dies after illness at 78
1966 George Creten Belgian sculptor/painter, dies at 79
1969 Arthur Walter Kramer composer, dies at 78
1969 Denton Cooley got 1st fully artificial heart, dies at 48
1970 Marie V Felix Prince of Luxemburg, dies
1973 Pablo (Ruiz y) Picasso Spanish/French painter (Guernica), dies near Mougins France at 91
1976 Phil Ochs rock producer (Joe Hill), dies at 35
1977 Frank Milan actor (The Witness), dies at 71
1978 Ford C Frick baseball commissioner, dies at 83
1981 General Omar Bradley last 5-star General, dies in New York at 88
1981 Norman Taurog dies
1981 Omar Bradley last US 5-star General, (Normandy) dies in New York at 88
1987 Francis C Denebrink US Naval officer (WWI, WWII, Korea) dies at 90
1990 Ryan White hemophiliac aids sufferer, dies at 18 - The Ryan White Foundation was founded later in 1991 by Jeanne White and Phil Donahue
1990 Doreen Sloane dies
1990 Jose De Vega dies of AIDS at 56
1992 Nelson Olmstead dies at 78
1993 Arleen Whelan dies of stroke at 78
1993 H Earnest bishop of Breda, dies
1993 Marian Anderson US contralto (My Lord, What a Morning), dies at 96
1994 Frank Wells president (Disney), dies in helicopter crash
1994 Irene Eisinger singer, dies at 91
1994 Walter Arnold German theologist (World council of Churches), dies at 64
1995 Maurice Allom cricketer (14 Test wickets-New Zealand debut hat-trick), dies
1996 Basil Hembry farmer/campaigner, dies at 80
1996 Ben Johnson cowboy actor (Tex, Dillinger), dies of heart attack at 77
1996 Charles Donald Adams singer, dies at 67
1997 Laura Nyro singer, dies of ovarian cancer at 49

1778 John Adams arrives in Paris to replace Silas Deane

Future United States President John Adams arrives in Paris, France, on this day in 1778 to replace former Continental Congress member Silas Deane as a member of the American commission representing the interests of the United States.

Deane had been recalled to America by Congress after fellow diplomat Arthur Lee accused him of misappropriating French funds. Whereas Deane was born and raised in Connecticut and educated at Yale, Arthur Lee was a Virginian following the educational and career path of the British elite when revolutionary politics intervened. The lesser-known brother of Francis Lightfoot Lee and Richard Henry Lee, he left the colonies to enroll at the aristocratic boarding school Eton College in England. He then pursued medical studies at the prestigious University of Edinburgh in Scotland, receiving his degree in 1765. In 1766, Lee went to London and began legal studies at the equally renowned Temple Bar until 1770, when he began a legal practice in London at which he worked until the outbreak of revolution in 1776, when he was named, along with Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane, as an American commissioner to France.

Lee never got along with his two colleagues and instigated Deane’s recall by accusing him of financial mismanagement and corruption. Deane’s replacement, John Adams, was also a New Englander (although from Massachusetts and Harvard) and defended Deane. Nonetheless, Deane was unable to clear his name and was forced to live his life in exile until his death in 1789.

In 1842, Congress reopened the investigation into Deane’s accounts and, finding no evidence of misconduct, ordered his heirs be paid $37,000 in reparations.
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1864 Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana

The Red River campaign of Union General Nathaniel Banks grinds to a halt when Confederate General Richard Taylor routs Banks' army at Mansfield, Louisiana.

The Red River campaign, which had begun a month earlier, was an attempt by the Union to invade Confederate Texas from Shreveport, Louisiana. Banks, accompanied by a flotilla on the Red River, would move northwest across the state and rendezvous at Shreveport with a force under General Frederick Steele moving from Little Rock, Arkansas.

The slow-moving Banks approached Mansfield and opted to take a shorter road to Shreveport than one that ran along the Red River. Not only was the road narrow, it was far away from the gun support offered by the Union flotilla on the river. Banks' troops ran into Taylor's force and a skirmish erupted. At 4:00 p.m., Taylor ordered an all-out assault on the Yankees. The Rebels withered a heavy fire before breaking the Union lines and sending the Federals in a disorganized retreat. The Yankees fell back three miles before reinforcements stopped the Confederate advance.

Banks suffered 113 men killed, 581 wounded, and 1,541 missing, while Taylor had about 1,500 total casualties. But Banks was now in retreat, and the Red River campaign was failing. Taylor attacked again the next day, but this time Banks' men held the Confederates at bay. Banks was unnerved, though, and he began to retreat back down the Red River without penetrating into Texas.
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1904 Britain and France sign Entente Cordiale

On this day in 1904, with war in Europe a decade away, Britain and France sign an agreement, later known as the Entente Cordiale, resolving long-standing colonial disputes in North Africa and establishing a diplomatic understanding between the two countries.

Formally entitled a “Declaration between the United Kingdom and France Respecting Egypt and Morocco,” the Entente Cordiale of April 1904 amounted more than anything to a declaration of friendship between these two great European powers. By its terms, France promised not to challenge British control over Egypt; for its part, Britain recognized France’s right, as “a Power whose dominions are conterminous for a great distance with those of Morocco” to act in that country to preserve order and to provide assistance to bring about whatever reforms in the government, economy or military it deemed necessary.

Through the Entente Cordiale, Britain and France established the beginnings of an alliance, promising, in the concluding words of the agreement, “to afford to one another their diplomatic support, in order to obtain the execution of the clauses of the present Declaration regarding Egypt and Morocco.” The agreement stopped short, however, of requiring the two nations to provide military support to each other; this aspect of the alliance would come later.

A motivating factor behind the agreement was undoubtedly France’s desire to protect itself against possible aggression from its old rival, Germany, who had steadily been growing stronger in the years since its victory in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and now possessed the most powerful land army in the world. Britain was also eager to keep Germany in check, especially in light of a revamped, ambitious German naval program, which—if successful—threatened to challenge Britain’s clear dominance at sea.

The German government, anxious over this agreement, decided to test its limits, sending Kaiser Wilhelm II to Morocco in March 1905 to declare his support for the sultan—a clear challenge to France’s influence in that country, which had been sanctioned by the Entente Cordiale. This bid to shake the Anglo-French alliance failed, as Britain sided with France; an international conference that convened at Algeciras, Spain, the following year also recognized France’s claims in the region.

The clash between Germany and the new allies became known as the First Moroccan Crisis—a second occurred in the summer of 1911, when both France and Germany sent forces to Morocco—and resulted in a tightening and solidifying of the Entente Cordiale, as Britain and France, aiming to confront German aggression, moved from mere friendship to an informal military alliance and, later, to talks and an agreement with France’s ally, Russia. By 1912, then, two powerful and hostile blocs had been formed in Europe, with France, Britain and Russia on one side, and an increasingly isolated Germany—with relatively lukewarm support from Austria-Hungary and Italy—on the other. Two years later, this volatile situation would erupt into the First World War.
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1944 Russians attack Germans in drive to expel them from Crimea

On this day in 1944, Russian forces led by Marshal Fedor Tolbukhin attack the German army in an attempt to win back Crimea, in the southern Ukraine, occupied by the Axis power. The attack would result in the breaking of German defensive lines in just four days, eventually sending the Germans retreating.

Crimea was the territorial plaything of many great powers, from the Ottoman Turks to the Russia of Ivan III. It had declared its independence in 1918 but was occupied again by Germany in 1941. It was "liberated" by the Russians, only to find itself trapped within the greater Soviet Union. It once again declared itself an independent republic in the 1990s.
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1945 Defiant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is hanged

On this day in 1945, Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is hanged at Flossenburg, only days before the American liberation of the POW camp. The last words of the brilliant and courageous 39-year-old opponent of Nazism were "This is the end--for me, the beginning of life."

Two days after Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, lecturer at Berlin University, took to the radio and denounced the Nazi Fuhrerprinzip, the leadership principle that was merely a synonym for dictatorship. Bonhoeffer's broadcast was cut off before he could finish. Shortly thereafter, he moved to London to pastor a German congregation, while also giving support to the Confessing Church movement in Germany, a declaration by Lutheran and evangelical pastors and theologians that they would not have their churches co-opted by the Nazi government for propagandistic purposes. Bonhoeffer returned to Germany in 1935 to run a seminary for the Confessing Church; the government closed it in 1937. Bonhoeffer's continued vocal objections to Nazi policies resulted in his losing his freedom to lecture or publish. He soon joined the German resistance movement, even the plot to assassinate Hitler. In April 1943, shortly after becoming engaged to be married, Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo. Evidence implicating him in the plot to overthrow the government came to light and he was court-martialed and sentenced to die. While in prison, he acted as a counselor and pastor to prisoners of all denominations. Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison was published posthumously. Among his celebrated works of theology are The Cost of Discipleship and Ethics.
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1981 Omar Bradley dies

General Omar Bradley, commander of the 12th Army Group who ensured Allied victory over Germany, dies on this day in 1981.

Born on February 12, 1893, Bradley was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (Dwight Eisenhower was a classmate). During the opening days of World War II, he commanded the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was later placed at the head of the II Corps for the North African campaign, proving instrumental in the fall of Tunisia and the surrender of over 250,000 Axis soldiers.

He led forces in the invasion and capture of Sicily and joined his troops in the Normandy invasion, which culminated in the symbolic liberation of Paris by Bradley's troops. He was promoted to commander of the U.S. 12th Army Group, the largest force ever placed under an American group commander, and led successful operations in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Czechoslovakia.

After the war, Bradley was chosen as the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ultimately promoted to the position of General of the Army in 1950. In 1951, he published his reminiscences of the war in A Soldier's Story. He retired in 1953.

Karl Malden portrayed him in the 1970 film Patton.
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1972 North Vietnamese forces open a third front

North Vietnamese 2nd Division troops drive out of Laos and Cambodia to open a third front of their offensive in the Central Highlands, attacking at Kontum and Pleiku in attempt to cut South Vietnam in two. If successful, this would give North Vietnam control of the northern half of South Vietnam.

The three-front attack was part of the North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive (later known as the "Easter Offensive"), which had been launched on March 30. The offensive was a massive invasion by North Vietnamese forces designed to strike the knockout 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.

North Vietnam had a number of objectives in 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 in each case 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 North Vietnamese attacks. Although the defenders suffered heavy casualties, they managed to hold out 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, even retaking 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.
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1975 Weyand reports to Congress

After a weeklong mission to South Vietnam, Gen. Frederick Weyand, U.S. Army Chief of Staff and former Vietnam commander, reports to Congress that South Vietnam cannot survive without additional military aid. Questioned again later by reporters who asked if South Vietnam could survive with additional aid, Weyand replied there was "a chance."

Weyand had been sent to Saigon by President Gerald Ford to assess the South Vietnamese forces and their chances for survival against the attacking North Vietnamese. The South Vietnamese were on the verge of collapse. The most recent assaults had begun in December 1974 when the North Vietnamese launched a major attack against the lightly defended province of Phuoc Long--located north of Saigon along the Cambodian border--and overran the provincial capital at Phuoc Binh on January 6, 1975. Despite previous presidential promises to aid South Vietnam in such a situation, the United States did nothing. By this time, Nixon had resigned from office and his successor, Gerald Ford, was unable to convince a hostile Congress to make good on Nixon's earlier promises to Saigon.

The situation emboldened the North Vietnamese, who launched a new campaign in March 1975, in which the South Vietnamese forces fell back in total disarray. Once again, the United States did nothing. The South Vietnamese abandoned Pleiku and Kontum in the Highlands with very little fighting. Then Quang Tri, Hue, and Da Nang fell to the communist onslaught. The North Vietnamese continued to attack south along the coast toward Saigon, defeating the South Vietnamese forces at each encounter.

As Weyand reported to Congress, the South Vietnamese were battling three North Vietnamese divisions at Xuan Loc, the last defense line before Saigon. Indeed, it became the last battle in the defense of the Republic of South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese forces managed to hold out against the attackers until they ran out of tactical air support and weapons, finally abandoning Xuan Loc to the communists on April 21. Saigon fell to the communists on April 30.