On This Day in History.....

0715 Constantine ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1241 Battle of Liegnitz - Mongol armies defeat Poles & Germans
1388 Battle of Näfels; Glarius Swiss defeat Habsburg (Austrian) army
1454 Milan/Venice signs peace of Lodi
1474 Breisach land guardian Peter von Hagenbach throws out Walloon/Italians
1483 Edward I (12) succeeds Edward IV as king of England
1538 Danish king Christian III enters Schmalkaldische Union
1555 Marcello Cervini elected Pope Marcellus II
1609 Spain & Netherlands sign 12 Year Resistant Pact
1621 Spain & Netherlands 12 Year Resistant Pact ends
1667 1st public art exhibition (Palais Royal, Paris France)
1682 Robert La Salle claims lower Mississippi (Louisiana) for France
1691 French troops occupy Mons
1770 Captain James Cook discovers Botany Bay (Australia)
1783 Tippu Sahib drives out English from Bednore India
1808 Mayor Wolters offers French king Louis Napoleon townhall as a palace
1814 Elias Canneman (L) resigns as minister of Finance
1816 African Methodist Episcopal Church organizes (Philadelphia PA)
1829 Danzig (Gdansk) dike break flood kills 1,200
1831 Robert Jenkins loses an ear, starts war between Britain & Spain
1833 1st tax-supported public library (Peterborough NH)
1838 National Galley opens in London
1864 Battle of Pleasant Hill LA, 2870 casualities
1865 Federals capture Fort Blakely AL
1865 Robert E Lee & 26,765 troops, surrender to US Grant at Appomattox
1866 Civil Rights Bill passes over President Andrew Johnson's veto
1869 Hudson Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada
1870 American Anti-Slavery Society dissolves
1872 Samuel R Percy patents dried milk
1878 1st Lady Lucy Hayes begins egg rolling contest on White House lawn
1894 1st performance of Anton Bruckner's 5th Symphony in B in Graz
1906 Intercalated Games opens in Athens - special Olympic gathering that helped get the Olympic movement back on track
1912 1st exhibition baseball game at Fenway Park (Red Sox vs Harvard)
1912 Titanic leaves Queenstown Ireland for New York
1913 Brooklyn Dodgers' Ebbets Field opens, Phillies win 1-0
1914 1st full color film shown "The World, The Flesh & the Devil" (London)
1914 Tampico incident - US ship crew arrested in México
1917 Battle of Arras begins
1917 Vimy Ridge France stormed by Canadian troops
1918 Latvia proclaims independence from Russia
1923 Sean O'Casey's "Shadow of a Gunman", premieres in Dublin
1925 Babe Ruth rushed to hospital
1927 Italy & US anarchists Sacco & Vanzetti given death sentences
1928 Mae West's NYC debut in a daring new play "Diamond Lil"
1928 Eugene O'Neill's "Lazarus Laughed", premieres in Pasadena
1928 Top-Oss soccer team forms in Oss
1928 Turkey passes separation of church & state
1931 Chicago's Cy Wentworth beats Montréal Canadiens at 13:50 of the 6th period
1932 Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs sweep New York Rangers in 3 games
1935 Stanley Cup Montréal Maroons sweep Toronto Maple Leafs in 3 games
1939 Marian Anderson sings before 75,000 at Lincoln Memorial
1940 German cruiser Blücher torpedoed/capsizes in Oslofjord, 1,000 die
1940 Germany invades Norway & Denmark during WWII (Denmark surrenders)
1941 PGA establishes Golf Hall of Fame
1942 Battle of Bataan-US-Filipino forces overwhelmed by Japanese at Bataan
1944 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Orientals Ecclesiae
1945 Liberty ship at Bari Italy carrying aerial bombs explodes, kills 360
1945 NFL requires players to wear long stockings
1945 Battleship Admiral Scheer sinks British aircraft carrier
1946 Stanley Cup Montréal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 4 games to 1
1947 Atomic Energy Commission is formed
1947 Baseball suspends Brooklyn Dodger Leo Durocher for 1 year
1947 Tornadoes striking West Texas & Oklahoma kill 169, injuring 1,300
1949 UN International Court of Justice held Albania responsible for incidents in Corfu Channel & awards Britain damages
1950 Bob Hope's 1st TV appearance
1950 14th Golf Masters Championship Jimmy Demaret wins, shooting a 283
1950 4th Tony Awards Cocktail Party & South Pacific win
1952 Popular uprising in Bolivia
1953 "TV Guide" publishes 1st issue
1953 Jomo Kenyatta sentenced to 7 years in Kenya
1954 WECT TV channel 6 in Wilmington NC (NBC/CBS) begins broadcasting
1955 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1957 Suez Canal cleared for all shipping
1957 Howard Hanson's "Song of Democracy", premieres in Washington DC
1959 Baltimore Orioles pull their 2nd triple play (3-6-3 vs Washington Senators)
1959 Bill Sharman hits an NBA record 56 consecutive foul shot
1959 NASA names 1st 7 astronauts for Project Mercury
1959 13th NBA Championship Boston Celtics sweep Minnesota Lakers in 4 games; this is Celtics' 8th consecutive title
1960 14th NBA Championship Boston Celtics beat St Louis Hawks, 4 games to 3; this is Celtics' 9th consecutive title
1960 South African premier Verwoerd wounded in battle
1962 Arnold Palmer wins his 3rd Masters golf tournament
1962 JFK throws out 1st ball at Washington DC's new Stadium
1962 26th Golf Masters Championship Arnold Palmer wins, shooting a 280
1962 34th Academy Awards - "West Side Story", Sophia Loren & Max Schell win
1963 Sir Winston Churchill proclaimed honorary U.S. citizen in White House ceremony
1965 1st game at Astrodome, Houston beats Yankees 2-1 in exhibition as Mickey Mantle hits 1st indoor homerun
1965 Beatles "Ticket to Ride" is released in UK
1965 India & Pakistan engage in border fight
1966 Anaheim Stadium for the California Angels opens
1966 Sophia Loren marries married Carlo Ponti in Paris France
1967 1st Boeing 737 rolls out
1967 Shortwave broadcaster Radio New York Worldwide's transmitter burns down
1967 "At the Drop of Another Hat" closes at Booth NYC after 105 performances
1967 31st Golf Masters Championship Gay Brewer Jr wins, shooting a 280
1968 Minnesota's Wayne Connelly is 1st to score on a Stanley Cup penalty shot
1968 Ralph Abernathy elected to head Southern Christian Leadership Conference
1968 German Democratic Republic adopts constitution
1968 Martin Luther King Jr, buried in Atlanta GA
1969 1st flight of Concorde 002 (Filton-Bristol)
1969 Chicago Cubs' Billy Williams hits 4 consecutive doubles beat Philadelphis Phillies 11-3
1970 Paul McCartney announces official split of the Beatles
1971 Ringo releases "It Don't Come Easy" in UK
1972 "Sugar" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 506 performances
1972 36th Golf Masters Championship Jack Nicklaus wins, shooting a 286
1972 Glenn Turner (259) & Terry Jarvis make 387 opening cricket stand vs West Indies
1972 USSR & Iraq sign friendship treaty
1973 Otto Kerner, former Governor of Illinois, convicted for his role in an illegal racetrack scheme
1973 37th Golf Masters Championship Tommy Aaron wins, shooting a 283
1973 Netherlands recognizes North Vietnam
1974 San Diegp Padres owner Ray Kroc, addresses fans "Ladies & gentlemen, I suffer with you I've never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life"
1976 US & Russia agree on the size of nuclear tests for peaceful use
1977 Communist party legally allowed in Spain after 40 years
1978 Denver's David Thompson scores 73 points & San Antonio's George Gervin scores 63 points in seperate NBA games (33 in 1 quarter)
1978 42nd Golf Masters Championship Gary Player wins, shooting a 277
1978 Brewers sweep Orioles 11-3, 16-3, & 13-5 (each with a grand slam)
1979 Longest doubles ping-pong match of 101 hours, begins
1979 51st Academy Awards - "Deer Hunter", Jon Voight & Jane Fonda win
1980 Kings tie NHL record with 2 shorthanded playoff goals in a period vs Islanders
1980 Soyuz 35 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6
1980 Belgium's Marten's government resigns
1981 US sub George Washington rams Japanese freighter Nisso Maru
1981 Los Angeles Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela's 1st start, beats Astros 2-0
1982 Los Angeles Lakers block 21 Denver shots setting NBA regulation game record
1983 6th Space Shuttle Mission-Challenger 1 returns to Earth
1983 Washington Capitals 2-New York Islanders 6 -Patrick Semis-Denis Potvin fails on penalty shot
1984 56th Academy Awards - "Terms of Endearment", Robert Duvall & Shirley Maclaine win
1985 White Sox pitcher Tom Seaver starts a record 15th opening day game
1986 "Dallas" announces it will revive the killed Bobby Ewing character
1987 For 3rd time, Wayne Gretzky, scores 7 goals in a Stanley Cup game
1987 Wayne Gretzky passes Jean Beliveau as all time playoff scoring champion
1988 Devils 3-0 over Islanders-Devils lead 2-1 in 1st round
1988 US imposes economic sanctions on Panamá
1988 "Les Miserables", opens at Umeda-Koma Theatre, Osaka
1989 Mike Tyson strikes a parking attendant when asked to move his car
1989 Scott Hoch chokes on 18 inch putt & loses Masters golf tournament
1989 53rd Golf Masters Championship Nick Faldo wins, shooting a 283
1989 Patti Rizzo wins LPGA Red Robin Kyocera Inamori Golf Classic
1989 Rickey Henderson steals his 800th career base in New York's 4-3 loss to Cleveland
1989 Washington DC march supporting 1973 Roe vs Wade decision (allow abortions)
1990 "Capital News" starring Lloyd Bridges premieres on ABC-TV
1990 Don Mattingly signs a $19.7 million 5-year contract with the Yankees
1990 New York Islanders beat New York Rangers 4-3 in double overtime-Rangers lead 2-1
1990 World's largest bunny hop at Radio City Music Hall (NYC)
1991 Georgia SSR votes to secede from the USSR
1991 Release of Microsoft MS-DOS 5.0
1992 "Redwood Curtain" opens at Nederlander theater on Broadway
1992 John Major, (Conservative Party) elected Prime Minister of England
1992 Noriega convicted on 8 of 10 drug & racketeering charges
1992 Record 18 golfers shoot in the 60s in Masters round 1 (old record 12)
1992 Florida drops rape charges against New York Mets Gooden, Boston & Coleman
1992 US Federal court finds Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drugs
1992 William O Studeman, becomes deputy director of CIA
1993 Colorado Rockies 1st home game & 1st victory, 11-4 over Montréal Expos
1994 BPAA US Open by Justin Hromek
1994 Singer Wayne Newton (52) weds attorney Kathleen McCrone (30)
1994 STS-59 (Endeavour) launches into orbit
1995 "Translations" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 25 performances
1995 59th Golf Masters Championship Ben Crenshaw wins, shooting a 274
1997 Cleveland Indians closer Jose Mesa found guilty of rape
1997 Major League Soccer announces Miami & Chicago expansion
1997 NFL announces it will give $3 million to CFL & possible "World Classic Bowl"
2000 64th Golf Masters Championship Vijay Singh wins with 10-under-par 278
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Missing In Action........

1965 FEGAN RONALD J. BROCKPORT NY CRASH AT SEA AFTER COMBAT
1965 MURPHY TERENCE M. NEW YORK NY CRASH AT SEA AFTER COMBAT
1967 SCHWORER RONALD P. LAS VEGAS NV
1968 LAWSON KARL W. TERRE HAUTE IN
1970 BUSHNELL BRIAN L. TUALITON OR "DOWN AT SEA, NO SURV OBS"
1970 HORCHAR ANDREW A. INDIANA PA "DOWN AT SEA, NO SURV OBS"
1970 KNIGHT LARRY C. WILBURTON OK "DOWN AT SEA, NO SURV OBS"
1970 PFAFFMANN CHARLES B. KILLINGSWORTH CT "DOWN AT SEA, NO SURV OBS"

Births which occurred on April 09:

1598 Johann Crüger German organist/composer/music theorist
1611 Giacomo Maria Predieri composer
1627 Johann Kaspar Kerll composer
1634 Albertine Agnes princess of Orange-Nassau
1649 James Scott Duke of Monmouth, bastard son of English king Charles II
1716 Johann Georg Zechner composer
1717 Georg Matthias Monn composer
1754 Antonio Frantisek Becvarovsky composer
1754 Pieter Paulus Dutch lawyer/CEO (National Convention)
1757 Wojciech Boguslawski composer
1785 Sibrand Acker Stratingh Dutch physician/chemist (electric car 1835)
1794 Theobald Böhm flautist/composer
1798 Giuditta Pasta [Negri] soprano
1802 Elias Lönrot folklorist
1806 Isambard Kingdom Brunel designer of 1st transatlantic steamer
1806 Louis count of Barrthyányi premier of Hungary
1812 Randolph Barnes Marcy Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1887
1821 Charles-Pierre Baudelaire France, symbolist poet (Flowers of Evil)
1826 Thomas Hewson Neill Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1885
1830 Eadweard Muybridge England, pioneered study of motion, photography
1835 Leopold II King of Belgians (1865-1909)
1847 Sir Francesco Paolo Tosti composer
1847 Francis William Davenport composer
1848 F A MacKinnon cricketer (later the 35th Mackinnon of Mackinnon)
1848 Helena Lange German feminist
1850 Herman Zumpe composer
1851 C E Arthur Wichmann German/Dutch geologist (Netherlands Indies)
1854 Seaborn M Denson composer
1855 Gyula Reviczky Hungarian author/poet
1861 Charles Holroyd painter/etcher
1865 Charles Proteus Steinmetz Germany, experiment with AC electricity
1865 Erich Ludendorff General (Germany)
1871 Arthur Fickenscher composer
1872 Léon Blum statesman
1872 Léon Blum French premier (People's front government)
1874 Julius Bittner Austrian composer (Little Violet)
1879 Gerald Festus Kelly artist
1883 Renzo Bossi composer
1884 Franco Vittadini composer
1888 Sol Hurok theatrical impresario
1888 Florence Smith Price US composer (Wanamaker Prize 1932)
1889 Efrem Zimbalist Rostov-on-Don Russia, composer/concert violinist
1891 John Gobau Flemish/Dutch actor (Electricity, Hostage Rights)
1894 Ernest Kanitz composer
1895 Mance Lipscomb Navasota TX, blues musician (Texas Sharecropper)
1895 Michel Simon [Francois], Geneva Switzerland
1895 Rudolf Kattnigg composer
1898 Earl (Curly) Lambeau NFL coach (Green Bay Packers)
1898 Paul Robeson Philadelphia PA, singer (Old Man River)/actor/football player
1898 Julius Patzak Austrian tenor singer
19-- Christopher Durham actor (Ryan's Hope)
19-- Vincent Bufano New York NY, actor (Turtle-Flatbush, Rick-Eischied)
1900 Allen Jenkins Staten Island NY, actor (Hey Jeannie, Top Cop, Girl Habit)
1902 Frantisek Suchy composer [or April 21, 1891]
1903 Ward Bond Benkelman NE, actor (Quiet Man, Fort Apache, Seth-Wagon Train)
1903 Willem Pée Belgian linguist
1904 Lyle Latell Elma IA, actor (Not of the Earth, Sky Dragon)
1905 J William Fulbright (Senator-Democrat-AR)
1906 Antal Dorati Budapest Hungary, conductor (Dresden Opera 1928-29)
1906 Todd Naylor "Hugh" Gaitskell MP (Labour Party)
1908 Fred Lohse composer
1908 Victor Vasarely Hungarian/French painter/author (Op Art)
1909 Domenico Enrici Apostolic Nuncio
1909 Robert Murray Halpmann dancer
1909 Ivan Ivonovich Dzerzhinsky composer
1909 Robert Helpmann Mount Gambier Australia, actor (Second Time Lucky)
1910 Abraham A Ribicoff (Senator-Democrat-CT)
1910 Sharon Lynn Weatherford TX, actress (Way Out West, Big Broadcast)
1911 Lord Deramore architect
1911 Albert Remy Sevres France, actor (Grand Prix, Gigot, Train)
1914 Richard Young CEO (Boosey & Hawkes)
1917 Vincent O'Brien racehorse trainer
1917 Johannes Bobrowski writer
1918 Jörn Utzon Danish architect (Sydney Opera House)
1919 John Presper Eckert co-inventor (1st electronic computer-ENIAC)
1920 Art Van Damme Norway MI, jazz accordionist (Chicago Jazz)
1920 David Walker Professor of Law (Glasgow University)
1920 Alexander Moulton English bicycle designer (folding bicycle)
1920 F Don Miller Racine WI, Boxing coach (Olympics-1956)
1921 Frankie Thomas New York NY, actor (Tom Corbett Space Cadet)
1922 Gerald Moverley Roman Catholic bishop (Hallam)
1922 Michael Palliser head of British diplomatic service
1922 Carl Amery writer
1923 Bruno Kiefer composer
1924 Harald Heilmann composer
1925 Tom Jackson British union leader (Post Office)
1925 Michael Richardson vice CEO (N M Rotschild)
1926 Graham Hills principal (Strathclyde University, England)
1926 Lord Fitt MP (Belfast Ireland)
1926 Michael Ogden QC
1926 Harris Wofford (Senator-Republican-PA)
1926 Hugh [Marston] Hefner Chicago IL, magazine publisher (Playboy)
1928 Brian Cubbon British senior civil servant
1928 Floyd D Spence (Representative-Republican-SC, 1971- )
1928 Tom Lehrer parody/folk singer (That Was The Week That Was)
1929 Harvey Lichtenstein president (Brooklyn Academy of Music)
1931 Bill Gilbert Washington DC, sports author (They Also Served, The Big E)
1931 Martin Rogers director (Farmington Institute for Christian Studies)
1932 Carl Perkins Jackson TN, singer/songwriter (Blue Suede Shoes)
1932 Jim Fowler Albany GA, naturalist (Wild Kingdom)
1932 Paul Krassner comic strip cartoonist (MAD Magazine)/founder (Yippies)
1932 Peter Moores director (Littlewoods)
1932 Vladimir Aleksandrovich Degtyaryov cosmonaut
1933 Richard Rose Professor of Public Policy (Strathclyde University)
1933 Gian Maria Volontè [John Welles] Milan Italy, actor (Fistful of Dollars)
1933 Jacques Molicard translator/navigator
1933 Jean-Paul Belmondo Paris France, actor (Casino Royale, Magnifique)
1935 Avery Schreiber Chicago IL, comedian (My Mother the Car)
1935 Aulis Sallinen composer
1936 Michael Somare British foreign affairs minister (Paupa & New Guinea)
1936 Jerzy Maksymiuk composer
1937 Valerie Singleton British broadcaster
1937 Barrington J[ohn] Bayley UK, sci-fi author (Collision Course)
1939 Michael Learned Washington DC, actress (Olivia-The Waltons, Nurse)
1940 Vasily Dmiotriyevich Shcheglov Russian cosmonaut
1941 Hannah Gordon actress (Oh Alfie)
1942 Brandon De Wilde Brooklyn NY, actor (Jamie, Wild in the Sky)
1942 Earl F Hillard (Representative-Democrat-AL)
1942 Galina A Kulakova USSR, nordic skier (Olympics-3 golds-1972, holds 9 world titles)
1943 Terry Knight rock vocalist (Gloria, Terry Knight & the Pack)
1944 Gene Parsons Los Angeles CA, rock drummer (Byrds, Gene Clark Group)
1945 Gus Hardin [Carol Ann Blankenship], Tulsa OK, country singer
1946 Les Gray vocalist (Mud-The Cat Crept In)
1946 Philip Wright rocker (Paper Lace)
1946 Alan [Philip Eric] Knott Belvedere Kent England, great English cricket wicketkeeper (1967-81)
1948 Chico Ryan Arlington MA, rock vocalist (Sha Na Na)
1949 Steve Gadd jazz drummer (Triplet Hop, Complex Jazz)
1950 Nathan Cook Philadelphia PA, actor (Milton-White Shadow, Billy-Hotel)
1950 Ehtesham-ud-din cricketer (Pakistani pace bowler in 5 Tests 1980-82)
1950 Kenneth D Cockrell Austin TX, astronaut (STS 56, 69, 80)
1952 Magnar Am composer
1953 Hal Ketchum Greenwich NY, country singer (Small Town Saturday Night)
1954 Dennis Quaid Houston TX, actor (Big Easy, Dreamscape, Right Stuff)
1957 Ednita Nazario Ponce Puerto Rico, Spanish singer
1957 Sevériano Ballesteros Spain, golfer (British Open 1979, 84, 88)
1958 Tony Sibson boxer
1959 Dave Innis Bartlesville OK, country singer (Restless Heart-Wheels)
1961 Mark Kelly Dublin Ireland, rock keyboardist (Marillion-Real to Reel)
1961 Kirk McCaskill Kapuskasing Ontario Canada, pitcher (Chicago White Sox)
1962 Freddie Joe Nunn NFL defensive end (Indianapolis Colts)
1962 Jeff Turner NBA forward (Vancouver Grizzlies)
1964 Shane Robinson Adelaide SA, Australasia golfer
1965 Paulina Porizkova Prostejov Czechoslovakia, model/Sports Illustrated swimsuit covergirl
1965 Hal Morris Fort Rucker AL, infielder (Cincinnati Reds)
1965 Helen Alfredsson Goteborg Sweden, LPGA golfer (1993 Dinah Shore)
1965 Paolo Cane Itaty, tennis star
1966 Cynthia Nixon New York NY, actress (Addams Family Values, Pelican Brief)
1966 Oliver Barnett NFL defensive end (San Francisco 49ers)
1967 Graeme Lloyd Australia, pitcher (New York Yankees, Milwaukee Brewers)
1968 Janne Ojanen Tampere Finland, hockey forward (Team Finland)
1968 Terry Brands Omaha NE, 125½ lbs/57 kg freestyle wrestler/identical twin of Tom (Olympics-96)
1968 Tom Brands Omaha NE, 136½ lbs/62 kg freestyle wrestler/identical twin of Terry (Olympics-gold-96)
1969 Amy Feng Tianjin China, US table tennis player (Olympics-96)
1969 Karl Krikken cricketer (Derbyshire 1989-, wicketkeeper)
1969 Timothy Young Philadelphia PA, rower (Olympics-silver-1996)
1970 Chuck Bradley CFL/WLAF tackle (British Columbia Lions, Barcelona Dragons)
1970 Neal Caloia Torrance CA, free pistol (Olympics-1996)
1970 Olaf Kolzig Johannesburg SAF, NHL goalie (Team Germany, Washington)
1971 Wang Yang youngest Olympic record breaker at age 17 (Olympics-1988)
1971 Anthony Redmon NFL guard (Arizona Cardinals)
1971 Austin Peck Hawaii, actor (Austin Reed-Days of Our Lives)
1971 Derwin Gray NFL center (Indianapolis Colts)
1971 James Hundon wide receiver (Cincinnati Bengals)
1971 Mujaahid Maynard Brooklyn NY, 105½ lbs/48 kg greco-roman wrestler (Olympics-96)
1972 Brian DeMarco NFL tackle (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1972 Craig Jones Australian rower (Olympics-96)
1972 Jeff Wilkins kicker (St Louis Rams)
1972 Jeffrey van As soccer player (MVV)
1972 Karen Clark Calgary Alberta, synchronized swimmer (Olympics-silver-96)
1974 Ben Bordelon tackle (San Diego Chargers)
1974 Kevin Mathis cornerback (Dallas Cowboys)
1974 Sharon Pelletier Madawaska ME, Miss Maine-America (1996)
1979 Keshia Knight Pulliam Newark NJ, actress (Rudy-Crosby)
1980 Kristin Lee Bethesda MD, rhythmic gymnast (US team-96)
1990 Marston Glenn Hefner son of Hugh Hefner & Kimberley Conrad
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Deaths which occurred on April 09:

0715 Constantine I Greek/Syrian Pope (708-15), dies
1024 Benedict VIII [Theophylactus van Tusculum] Pope (1012-24), dies
1483 Edward IV King of England (1461-70, 71-83) dies at 38
1492 Lorenzo de' Medici Florentine statesman, dies
1553 François Rabelais French author (Gargantua/Pantagruel), dies at 49
1557 Michael Agricola Finnish theologist/church reformer/bishop, dies
1626 Francis Bacon Viscount St Albans, statesman, dies
1681 Alfonso Marsh composer, dies at 54
1747 Simon Fraser (Lord Lovat) 12th baron Lovat Jacobite, last man beheaded in England
1754 Christian von Wolff German philosopher, dies at 75
1761 William Law theologian, dies
1765 Maria Louise van Hessen-Kassel princess of Orange-Nassau, dies at 77
1793 Ernestus Weinrauch composer, dies at 62
1804 Jacques Necker financier/statesman, dies
1806 Willem V Batavus prince of Orange-Nassau, dies at 58
1807 John Opie England, painter/illustrator; Shakespeare gallery, dies at 45
1821 Felix Maximo Lopez composer, dies at 78
1850 William Prout physician/chemist, dies
1851 Antoine-Charles Glachant composer, dies at 80
1852 John Howard Payne actor/playwright (Fair Warning), dies
1862 George W Johnson US planter/Confederate (Governor-KY), dies at about 50
1865 Thomas Alfred Smyth Irish/US Union General-Major, dies at 32
1879 Ernst Friedrich Richter composer, dies at 70
1882 Dante Gabriel Rossetti poet/pre-Raphaelite painter, dies at 53
1882 Jules Quicherat French historian/archaeologist (Mélanges), dies at 66
1886 Joseph V von Scheffel German writer (Ekkehard), dies at 60
1893 Disma Fumagalli composer, dies at 66
1904 Isabella II Queen of Spain (1833-68), dies at 73
1909 Charles Conder artist, dies
1916 Vicente Goicoechea Errasti composer, dies at 62
1917 Edward Thomas poet, killed in WWI
1923 Mauritius H Binger director/producer (Living Ladder), dies
1931 Paul Antonin Vidal composer, dies at 67
1933 Sigfrid Karg-Elert composer, dies at 55
1939 Emilio Serrano y Ruiz composer, dies at 89
1940 Mrs Patrick Campbell English actress (Outcast Lady, Riptide), dies
1944 Boleslaw Wallek-Walewski composer, dies at 59
1945 Dietrich Bonhoeffer German theologist/antifascist, hanged
1945 Hans Oster German Major-General/spy, "July 20th plot", hanged
1945 Hans von Dohnanyi "July 20th plotter", hanged
1945 Theodor Haecker German cultural philosopher (Mensch?), dies at 65
1945 Wilhelm Canaris Admiral/headed Germany Abwehr, hanged
1947 Konrad Friedrich Noetel composer, dies at 43
1948 Jorge Elecier Gaitán Colombian politician, murdered
1951 Sadiq Hidajat Persian writer (Hadji Aga), dies
1951 Vilhelm F K Bjerknes Norwegian/US physicist/meteorology, dies at 89
1954 Philip Greeley Clapp composer, dies at 65
1959 Frank Lloyd Wright US architect (Guggenheim Museum, New York), dies at 89
1961 Zog I [Ahmed Zogu] King of Albania (1925-39), dies at 65
1962 Juan Belmonte famed bullfighter, dies at 70
1966 Sutan Sjahrir premier of Indonesia (1945-47), dies at 57
1976 Akio Yashiro composer, dies at 46
1976 Phil Ochs singer (Draft Dodger Rag), commits suicide at 35
1979 Staats Cotsworth dies at 71
1980 Kathleen Burke dies
1982 Wilfrid Pelletier symphony conductor (Voice of Firestone), dies at 85
1982 Robert H G Havemann German chemist/dissident, dies
1984 Basil Henry Blackwell British publisher, dies
1986 Jean Mogin Belgian poet, dies at 64
1988 Brook Benton singer (Just a Matter of Time), dies of meningitis at 56
1988 Dave Prater rocker (Sam & Dave), dies in a car crash at 50
1991 Maurice Binder title designer (James Bond Movies), dies at 73
1992 Gale McGee Senator (Wyoming, 1959-77), dies at 77
1992 Ruth Hammond dies in her sleep at 96
1993 Wouter Perquin journalist/Dutch MP (KVP), dies at 74
1994 Cornelis N "Cor" van Dis Jr Dutch MP (1971-94), dies at 71
1994 Keith Watson British comic strip artist (Dan Dare), dies at 59
1994 Marcel Ichac French alpinist/director (Karakoram), dies at 87
1994 Raouf Khayrat Egyptian General-Major, murdered
1995 James Bullock colliery manager, dies at 92
1996 James William Rouse US builder (shopping malls), dies at 81
1996 Maisie Fitter editor/conservationist, dies at 83
1996 Richard Thomas Condon author, dies at 81
1996 Sandy Becker NYC Kiddie TV Show host (Sandy Becker Show), dies at 74
1997 Helene Hanff author (84 Charing Cross Road), dies at 80
1998 Tammy Wynette [Virginia Wynette Pugh] country singer (Stand By Your Man), dies from a blot clot at 55

1778 Jeremiah Wadsworth named commissary general

On this day in 1778, Jeremiah Wadsworth is named commissary general of purchases for the Continental Army at the insistence of General George Washington.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1743 to a minister who died when he was four, Wadsworth was raised by his uncle, Matthew Talcott, a ship-owner from Middletown, Connecticut. At the age of 18, Wadsworth embarked on a 10-year career as a sailor aboard one of his uncle’s ships, where he rose to the rank of captain. In 1767, he married a minister’s daughter, Mehitable Russel, also of Middletown; they had three children.

An early and vocal Patriot, Wadsworth began the next step of his career in April 1775, when he was appointed to work in a supply commissary for Connecticut troops. Wadsworth’s experience as a sailor and merchant aboard his uncle’s ships helped him understand the supply commissary, and he quickly rose in rank. The Continental Congress elected Wadsworth as deputy commissary-general of purchases on June 18, 1777. Upon the retirement of Joseph Trumbull, Wadsworth was appointed commissary general in April 1778, a post he held until December 1779, when he resigned.

Wadsworth earned Washington’s favor as a provider of “good and ample” supplies and went on to work as the commissary for the French troops in America. After submitting his accounting records in Paris at the end of the war, Wadsworth made purchases in England and Ireland, which he resold on the commercial market for profit upon his return to America. The transactions helped to make Wadsworth the wealthiest man in Connecticut.

Wadsworth later served as a member of the Continental Congress and Connecticut ratification convention in 1788, the U.S. Congress from 1789 to 1795, the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1795 and, finally, on Connecticut’s executive council from 1795 to 1801.
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1865 Lee surrenders

Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

For more than a week, Lee had tried to outrun Grant to the west of Richmond and Petersburg. After a ten-month siege of the two cities, the Union forces broke through the defenses and forced Lee to retreat. The Confederates moved along the Appomattox River, with Union General Phillip Sheridan shadowing them to the south. Lee's army had little food, and they began to desert in large numbers on the retreat. When Lee arrived at Appomattox, he found that his path was blocked. He had not choice but to request a meeting with Grant.

They met at a house in Appomattox at 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon of April 9. Lee was resplendent in his dress uniform and a fine sword at his side. Grant arrived wearing a simple soldier's coat that was muddy from his long ride. The great generals spoke of their service in the Mexican War, and then set about the business at hand. Grant offered generous terms. Officers could keep their side arms, and all men would be immediately released to return home. Any officers and enlisted men who owned horses could take them home, Grant said, to help put crops in the field and carry their families through the next winter. These terms, said Lee, would have "the best possible effect upon the men," and "will do much toward conciliating our people." The papers were signed and Lee prepared to return to his men.

In one of the great ironies of the war, the surrender took place in the parlor of Wilmer McClean's home. McClean had once lived along the banks of Bull Run, the site of the first major battle of the war in July 1861. Seeking refuge from the fighting, McClean decided to move out of the Washington-Richmond corridor to try to avoid the fighting that would surely take place there. He moved to Appomattox Court House only to see the war end in his home.

Although there were still Confederate armies in the field, the war was officially over. Four years of bloodshed had left a devastating mark on the country: 360,000 Union and 260,000 Confederate soldiers had perished during the Civil War.
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1918 Battle of the Lys begins

On this day in 1918, German troops launch “Operation Georgette,” the second phase of their final, last-ditch spring offensive, against Allied positions in Armentieres, France, on the River Lys.

On March 21, 1918, the Germans under Erich von Ludendorff, chief of the general staff, launched their first major offensive on the Western Front in more than a year, attacking the Allies in the Somme River region of France and training their huge guns on Paris. The Allies managed to halt Ludendorff’s exhausted armies by the end of March, however, thanks in part to a fresh influx of several thousand American soldiers. By the time Ludendorff shut down attacks on April 5, the Germans had gained nearly 40 miles of territory.

Ludendorff’s focus now switched to the Flanders region of northern France, aiming to push the British troops back against their ports along the English Channel, forcing them into a corner. Thus on April 9, after a four-and-a-half hour long bombardment of British forces in Armentieres, 14 German divisions attacked along a 10-mile front to begin the Battle of the Lys. As at the Somme, the ferocious German advance quickly drove the British back, punching a hole 3.5 miles wide through the British line. They also made quick and bloody work of a Portuguese division taking part in the battle, sending four divisions against the single Portuguese unit and taking some 6,000 prisoners. To make matters worse, the Germans unleashed 2,000 tons of poisonous gas—including mustard and phosgene gas—against the British at the Lys, incapacitating 8,000 (of whom many were blinded) and killing 30.

Despite the initial success of Operation Georgette, the British defensive positions in Armentieres were better prepared and more tenacious than those at the Somme, and the Germans managed to advance only 12 kilometers by the time Ludendorff closed down the operation on April 29. By this time, morale on both sides of the line was at a low point, due to heavy losses, but neither was ready to give in. The Germans looked to the next stage of their offensive, against the French at the Aisne River, as the Allies readied their defenses, each side believing that the outcome of the First World War hung in the balance.
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1940 Germany invades Norway and Denmark

On this day in 1940, German warships enter major Norwegian ports, from Narvik to Oslo, deploying thousands of German troops and occupying Norway. At the same time, German forces occupy Copenhagen, among other Danish cities.

German forces were able to slip through the mines Britain had laid around Norwegian ports because local garrisons were ordered to allow the Germans to land unopposed. The order came from a Norwegian commander loyal to Norway's pro-fascist former foreign minister Vidkun Quisling. Hours after the invasion, the German minister in Oslo demanded Norway's surrender. The Norwegian government refused, and the Germans responded with a parachute invasion and the establishment of a puppet regime led by Quisling (whose name would become a synonym for "traitor"). Norwegian forces refused to accept German rule in the guise of a Quisling government and continued to fight alongside British troops. But an accelerating German offensive in France led Britain to transfer thousand of soldiers from Norway to France, resulting ultimately in a German victory.

In Denmark, King Christian X, convinced his army could not fight off a German invasion, surrendered almost immediately. Hitler now added a second and third conquered nation to his quarry, which began with Poland.
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1942 U.S. surrenders in Bataan

On this day in 1942, Major General Edward P. King Jr. surrenders at Bataan, Philippines--against General Douglas MacArthur's orders--and 78,000 troops (66,000 Filipinos and 12,000 Americans), the largest contingent of U.S. soldiers ever to surrender, are taken captive by the Japanese.

The prisoners were at once led 55 miles from Mariveles, on the southern end of the Bataan peninsula, to San Fernando, on what became known as the "Bataan Death March." At least 600 Americans and 5,000 Filipinos died because of the extreme brutality of their captors, who starved, beat, and kicked them on the way; those who became too weak to walk were bayoneted. Those who survived were taken by rail from San Fernando to POW camps, where another 16,000 Filipinos and at least 1,000 Americans died from disease, mistreatment, and starvation.

After the war, the International Military Tribunal, established by MacArthur, tried Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu, commander of the Japanese invasion forces in the Philippines. He was held responsible for the death march, a war crime, and was executed by firing squad on April 3, 1946.
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1969 "Chicago Eight" plead not guilty

The Chicago Eight, indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, plead not guilty. The trial for the eight antiwar activists had begun in Chicago on March 20. The defendants included David Dellinger of the National Mobilization Committee (NMC); Rennie Davis and Thomas Hayden of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, founders of the Youth International Party ("Yippies"); Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers; and two lesser known activists, Lee Weiner and John Froines.

They were charged with conspiracy to cross state lines with intent to incite a riot. Attorneys William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass represented all but Seale. The trial, presided over by Judge Julius Hoffman, turned into a circus as the defendants and their attorneys used the court as a platform to attack Nixon, the war, racism, and oppression. Their tactics were so disruptive that at one point Judge Hoffman ordered Seale gagged and strapped to his chair. (Seale's disruptive behavior eventually caused the judge to try him separately). When the trial ended in February 1970, Hoffman found the defendants and their attorneys guilty of 175 counts of contempt of court and sentenced them to terms ranging from two to four years. Although declaring the defendants not guilty of conspiracy, the jury found all but Froines and Weiner guilty of intent to riot. The others were each sentenced to five years and fined $5,000. However, none of the defendants served time because in 1972 a Court of Appeals overturned the criminal convictions and eventually most of the contempt charges were also dropped.