On This Day in History.....

0193 Lucius Septimus Severus crowned emperor of Rome
0754 Pact of Quierzy between Pope Stephen II, [III] & Pippin the Korte
0972 Notger becomes bishop of Liege
0979 Challenge to throne of King Aethelred II of England
1028 German emperor Conrad II the Sailor crowns his son Henry III, king
1191 85-year old Giacinto Bobo becomes Pope Coelestinus III
1471 Battle of Barnet-King Edward IV vs Earl of Warwick
1536 English king Henry VIII expropriate minor monasteries
1544 Battle at Carignano French troops under Earl d'Enghien beat Swiss
1570 Polish Calvinists/Lutherians/Hernhutters unify against Jesuits
1574 Battle of Mookerhei-D'Avila beats Louis of Nassau
1611 Word "telescope" is 1st used (Prince Federico Cesi)
1614 Pocahontas, daughter of chief Powhatan, marries planter John Rolfe
1629 England & France sign Peace of Susa
1671 Cosaks capture Russian boer leader Stenka Razin
1756 Governor Glen of South Carolina protests against 900 Acadia Indians
1775 1st abolitionist society in US organizes in Philadelphia PA
1777 New York adopts new constitution as an independent state
1792 France declares war on Austria, starting French Revolutionary Wars
1799 Napoleon called for establishing Jerusalem for Jews
1809 Napoleon defeated Austria in the Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria
1814 Napoleon abdicated & was banished to Elba
1818 US Medical Corp forms
1828 18-gun sloop "Acorn" sinks off Halifax with 115 men aboard
1836 Congress forms Territory of Wisconsin
1841 Edgar Allen Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue", published
1847 Persia & Osmaanse sign 2nd Treaty of Erzurum
1853 Harriet Tubman began her Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape
1859 Charles Dickens' "A Tale Of Two Cities" published
1860 1st Pony Express rider arrives in San Francisco CA from St Joseph MO
1861 Formal Union surrender of Fort Sumter
1861 Robert E Lee resigns from Union army
1862 Battle of Fort Pillow TN
1863 William Bullock patents continuous-roll printing press
1865 Mobile AL is captured
1865 President Abraham Lincoln shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth
1868 South Carolina voters approve constitution, 70,758 to 27,228
1871 Canada sets denominations of currency as dollars, cents, & mills
1872 Dominion Lands Act passed-Canada's Homestead Act
1872 San Francisco organizes Bar Association
1883 Leo Delibes' opera "Lakmé", premieres in Paris France
1887 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Reigate Squires" (BG)
1890 Pan American Day-1st conference of American states (Washington DC)
1894 1st public showing of Thomas Edison's kinetoscope (moving pictures)
1895 1st performance of Gustav Mahler's (incomplete) 2nd Symphony
1896 John Philip Sousa's "El Capitan", premieres (NYC)
1900 Veteran's Hospital at Fort Miley is established
1900 President Loubet opens International Fairs in Paris France
1902 Marie & Pierre Curie isolate the radioactive element radium
1903 Dr Harry Plotz discovers vaccine against typhoid (New York NY)
1904 George Bernard Shaw's "Candida", premieres in London
1906 President Theodore Roosevelt denounces "muckrakers" in US press
1909 Anglo-Persian Oil Company forms in London
1910 President William Howard Taft begins tradition of throwing out ball on opening day
1912 The Titanic, launched on 31 May 1911, on route from Southampton to New York with 2200 passengers, strikes iceberg off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia at approximately 11:30pm, and sinks early the next morning (1500+ death toll)
1912 Pan American Union forms
1913 Belgium begins general strike for voting rights
1914 Stacy G Carkhuff patents non-skid tire pattern
1915 A's Herb Pennock is within 1 out of pitching 1st Opening Day no-hitter
1915 Dutch merchant navy ship Katwijk sunk by Germany torpedo
1917 Chicago White Sox Ed Cicotte no-hits St Louis Browns, 11-0
1918 Douglas Campbell is 1st US ace pilot (shooting down 5th German plane)
1920 Tornadoes killed 219 people in Alabama & Mississippi
1921 NHL Championship Ottawa Senators sweep Toronto St Patricks in 2 games
1921 Prince Henry opens Rotterdam-Amsterdam-Bremen-Hamburg air route
1922 Republic rebels occupies 4 government courts in Dublin
1923 Etienne Oehmichen sets helicopter distance record of 358 meters
1925 1st regular-season Cubs game to be broadcast on radio (WGN)
1928 Maddus Airlines starts 1st regular passenger flights between San Francisco & Los Angeles
1928 Stanley Cup New York Rangers beat Montréal Maroons, 3 games to 2
1930 Philip Barry's "Hotel Universe", premieres in NYC
1931 Spain becomes republic with overthrow of King Alfonso XIII
1931 Stanley Cup Montréal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 3 games to 2
1932 Bizet, Massine & Miró's "Jeux d'Enfants", premieres in Monte Carlo
1935 Sandstorm ravages US midwest (Dust Bowl)
1939 John Steinbeck novel "The Grapes of Wrath" published
1940 Allied troops land in Norway
1940 RCA demonstrates its new electron microscope in Philadelphia
1941 1st massive German raid in Paris France, 3,600 Jews rounded up
1941 King Peter leaves Yugoslavia
1942 Destroyer Roper sinks German U-85 of US east coast
1943 Generals Alexander/Eisenhower/Anderson/Bradley discuss assault on Tunis
1943 James Gow & A d'Usseau's "Tomorrow the World", premieres in NYC
1944 Freighter "Fort Stikine" explodes in Bombay India, killing 960+
1944 1st Jews transported from Athens arrive at Auschwitz
1944 General Eisenhower becomes head commander of allied air fleet
1944 Greek Colonel Venizelos forms government
1945 American B-29 incendiary raids on Tokyo & damage the Imperial Palace
1945 Arnhem/Zwolle freed from Nazis
1945 US forces conquer Motobu peninsula on Okinawa
1945 US marines attack Yae Take on Okinawa
1946 "Day Before Spring" closes at National Theater NYC after 167 performances
1946 Manager Mel Ott of Giants hits 511th & final homerun
1948 A flash of light is observed in the crater Plato on the Moon
1948 NYC subway fares jump from 5¢ to 10¢
1948 Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs sweep Detroit Red Wings in 4 games
1948 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak
1949 International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg's last judgment
1950 1st edition of British strip "Eagle"
1950 Doorne's Auto factory opens in Netherlands
1953 Stanley Cup Montréal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 4 games to 1
1953 Viet-Minh offensive in Laos
1953 WHYN (now WGGB) TV channel 40 in Springfield-Holyoke MA (ABC) begins
1954 Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov asks for political asylum in Canberra
1955 Elston Howard becomes the 1st black to wear the Yankee uniform
1955 Stanley Cup Detroit Red Wings beat Montréal Canadiens, 4 games to 3
1955 WBRZ TV channel 2 in Baton Rouge LA (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
1956 Ampex Corp demonstrates 1st commercial videotape recorder
1956 "Plain & Fancy" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 476 performances
1957 Leah Neuberger wins her 8th women's singles ping pong championship
1957 Wiffi Smith wins LPGA Dallas Golf Open
1958 Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burns up in atmosphere
1959 (Robert) Taft Memorial Bell Tower dedicated in Washington DC
1959 KDIN TV channel 11 in Des Moines IA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1960 "Bye Bye Birdie" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 607 performances
1960 1st underwater launching of Polaris missile
1960 Stanley Cup Montréal Canadiens sweep Toronto Maple Leafs in 4 games
1961 1st live television broadcast from the Soviet Union
1961 Cuban-American invasion army departs Nicaragua
1961 US element 103 (Lawrencium) discovered
1962 Demonstration for sovereign status of New-Guinea in Amsterdam
1962 Georges Pompidou becomes President of France
1963 George Harrison is impressed by the unsigned group "Rolling Stones"
1964 Sandy Koufax throws his 9th complete game without allowing a walk
1965 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1967 General Gnassingbe Eyadema becomes President of Togo
1967 In the Vietnam War, US planes bomb Haiphong for 1st time
1967 Red Sox rookie Billy Rohome comes within 1 strike of a no hitter at Yankee Stadium, Elston Howard singles on a 3-2 pitch
1968 Roberto de Vicenzo loses Masters for signing an incorrect score card
1968 1st NBA game at Madison Square Garden, Knicks beat San Diego Clippers
1968 32nd Golf Masters Championship Bob Goalby wins, shooting a 277
1968 Marilynn Smith wins LPGA O'Sullivan Golf Open
1969 1st major league baseball game outside US played in Montréal Québec Canada
1969 Student Afro-American Society seized at Columbia College
1969 Tornado strikes Dacca East Pakistan killing 540
1969 41st Academy Awards - "Oliver", Cliff Robertson & Katharine Hepburn/Barbra Streisand win
1969 KEET TV channel 13 in Eureka CA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1970 "Boy Friend" opens at Ambassador Theater NYC for 119 performances
1971 Fort Point, San Francisco dedicated as a national historic site
1971 President Richard Nixon ends blockade against People's Republic of China
1971 Stephen Sondheim's musical "Follies", premieres in NYC
1971 Supreme Court upheld busing as means of achieving racial desegregation
1972 "That's Entertainment" opens at Edison Theater NYC for 4 performances
1973 Acting FBI director L Patrick Gray resigns after admitting he destroyed evidence in the Watergate scandal
1974 38th Golf Masters Championship Gary Player wins, shooting a 278
1977 Supreme Court says people may refuse to display state motto on license
1978 WRR-AM in Dallas TX changes call letters to KAAM
1978 David Hare's "Plenty", premieres in London
1978 Korean Air Lines Boeing 707, fired on by Soviets, crashes in Russia
1979 Susan Horvath, of Pennsylvania, crowned America's Young Woman of the Year
1980 1st Cubans of the Mariel boatlift sail to Florida
1980 52nd Academy Awards - "Kramer vs Kramer", Dustin Hoffman & Sally Field win
1980 Pulitzer prize awarded to Norman Mailer (Executioner's Song)
1981 1st Space Shuttle-Columbia 1-returns to Earth
1983 New York Islanders tie own record with 2 shorthanded playoff goals in a period vs New York Rangers
1983 North Carolina State beats Houston for NCAA basketball title
1983 New York Rangers 1-New York Islanders 4-Patrick Division Finals-Islanders hold 1-0 lead
1983 President Ronald Reagan signs $165 billion Social Security rescue
1984 Farewell concert of "Doe Maar" in Den Bosch Netherlands
1985 Bob Carpenter is unsuccessful on Washington Capitals 1st playoff penalty shot
1985 Washington Capitals 4-New York Islanders 6-Patrick Division Semifinals-Series tied at 2-2
1985 "Take Me Along!" opens/closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC
1985 49th Golf Masters Championship Bernhard Langer wins, shooting a 282
1985 Ahmed Salah wins 1st World Cup marathon (2:08:09)
1985 Alan Garcia wins elections in Peru
1985 Beth Daniel wins LPGA Kyocera Inamori Golf Classic
1985 Jack C Burcham is 5th to receive "Jarvik 7" permanent artificial heart
1986 US aircraft attacks 5 terrorist locations in Libya
1986 21st Academy of Country Music Awards George Strait, Alabama, Reba McEntire
1986 Desmond Tutu elected Anglican archbishop of Capetown
1986 Double-decker ferry sinks in stormy weather in Bangladesh killing 200
1987 Turkey asks to join European market
1988 New Jersey Devils 6-5 over New York Islanders-Devils take 1st round 4-2
1988 "Mail" opens at Music Box Theater NYC for 36 performances
1988 USSR, US, Pakistan & Afghánistán sign Afghánistán treaty
1989 1,100,000,000th Chinese born
1989 In the Iran-Contra trial, Oliver North's case goes to the jury
1991 "Mule Bone" closes at Ethel Barrymore Theater NYC after 67 performances
1991 "Oh, Kay!" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC
1991 55th Golf Masters Championship Ian Woosnam wins, shooting a 277
1991 Chicago Blackhawks becomes 1st NHL regular season champion in 20 years to lose in 1st round of the playoffs (To Minnesota North Stars)
1992 UAW ends 5 month strike against Caterpillar Inc
1992 UN-imposed embargo against Libya takes effect
1992 "Guys & Dolls" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC on Broadway for 1143 performances
1992 "Les Miserables", opens at Palace Theatre, Manchester
1992 Court throws out Apple's lawsuit against Microsoft
1993 Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender after completion of his Seven Seals manuscript
1994 Billy Joel & Christie Brinkley announce plans to divorce
1994 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis operated on for a bleeding ulcer
1994 New Jersey Devils end best regular season, 47-25-12 record for 106 points
1994 US F-15 accidentally shoots 2 US helicopters down over Iraq, 26 die
1995 India beats Sri Lanka to win the Asia Cricket Cup final in Sharjah
1995 Rosie Jones wins LPGA Pinewild Women's Golf Championship
1996 "Apple Doesn't Fall" opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 1 performance
1996 60th Golf Masters Championship Nick Faldo wins, shooting a 276
1996 Detroit Red Wings win NHL record 62 games
2002 66th Golf Masters Championship
____________________________________________________________________

Missing In Action....

1968 QUAMO GEORGE AVERILL PARK NY REMAINS RECOVERED 06/28/74
1968 RODRIQUEZ FERDINAND A. NEW YORK NY 02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG DECEASED
1972 GREENLEAF JOSEPH G. WEST NEWTON MA
1972 MC KINNEY CLEMIE CLEVELAND OH REMAINS RET 08/14/85 IDENTIFIED 02/88

Births which occurred on April 14:

1578 Philip III king of Spain & Portugal (1598-1621)
1592 Abraham Elsevier book publisher/publisher
1629 Christiaan Huygens Holland, astronomer (discovered Saturn's rings)
1676 Ernst Chreistian Hesse composer
1710 Marie A C de Camargo Spanish/Italian/Belgian dancer
1718 Emanuele Barbella composer
1721 William August [Duke of Cumberland] English army leader
1723 John Wainwright composer
1738 Duck of Portland © British PM (1783, 1807-09)
1762 Giuseppe Valadier Italian architect/archaeologist
1770 George Canning London, British PM (1827)
1782 Carlo Coccia composer
1797 Adolphe Thiers 1st President of 3rd French Republic (1871-77)
1803 Friedrich von Amerling Austrian painter
1809 George W Vreede Dutch lawyer/politician
1813 Junius S Morgan US, merchant/philanthropist (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
1819 Charles Halle pianist/conductor/founder (Halle Orchestra)
1820 Harry Thompson Hays Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1876
1831 Gerhard Rohlfs German explorer/ambassador in Abyssinia
1832 James Hewett Ledlie Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1882
1842 Sven August Korling composer
1843 Gustave Leon Huberti composer
1852 Henrique Oswald composer
1857 Edgar Stillman Kelley Sparta WI, composer (Gulliver)
1862 Pyotr A Stolypin premier Russia (1906-11)
1866 Anne Mansfield Sullivan US, educated Helen Keller
1870 Syd Gregory cricketer (Australian batsman in 58 Tests 1890-1912)
1873 Viktor Joseph Keldorfer composer
1874 Count Alexander of Athlone, Governor-General (South-Africa/Canada)
1876 Murray Bisset cricketer (South African wicket-keeper 1899 & 1910)
1877 Daniël Plooy Dutch new testament scholar
1879 James Branch Cabell American novelist/essayist (Restless Heads)
1881 Anton Wildgans Austrian writer/director (Burg Theater)
1886 Edward C Tolman US psychologist (behaviorism)
1886 Ernst R Curtius German literature historian
1889 Arnold Toynbee England, historian (A Study of History)
1889 Efim D Bogoljubov Russian chess player
1889 James Stephenson actor (Letter, Espionage Agent, Nancy Drew)
1892 Giorgio Cesana Italy, coxswain, (Olympics-gold-1906)
1892 Vere G Childe British archaeologist/prehistorian
1895 Mary Marquet St Petersburg Russia, actress (Matter of Resistance)
1895 Wiktor Labunski composer
1897 Barbara Baroness Wootton of Abinger English Lower house leader
1898 Lee Tracy Atlanta GA, actor (Martin Kane-Martin Kane Private Eye)
19-- John Diaquinto Brooklyn NY, actor (Varges-Wild Side)
1900 Salvatore Baccaloni Rome, actor (Merry Andrew, Rock-a-Bye Baby)
1901 Alfred West champion cyclist/record hair splitter (17 splits)
1901 Martin Kessel writer
1902 Menachem A Schneerson rebee (head of Lubavitcher Jews)
1904 Sir John Gielgud London England, actor (Arthur, Ages of Man)
1904 Lionel Birkett cricketer (West Indies vice-captain on Australian tour 1930-31)
1904 Reinout W van Bemmelen Dutch geologist
1904 Sonia Gaskell Russian/Netherlands choreographer
1905 Frits Philips Dutch engineer/CEO (Philips)
1905 Holmesdale Charles "Slinger" Nitschke cricket batsman (South Australia & Test)
1906 Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz King Saudi-Arabia (1964-75)
1906 Hunter Johnson composer
1907 François "Doc" Duvalier dictator of Haiti
1907 Otto F A H van Nispen Dutch mayor (Pannerden)/MP (KVP)
1907 Phyllis Konstam London England, actress (Murder, Skin Game)
1910 Werner Wolf Glaser composer
1912 Belinda Quirey dance historian/teacher
1912 Piet van Egmond Dutch organist/conductor (Netherlands Chamber Orchestra)
1912 Robert Doisneau photographer
1913 John Howard Cleveland OH, actor (Dave-My Three Sons)
1913 Everhard van Royen Dutch flautist/founder (Alma musica)
1913 Jean Fournet French conductor
1916 Commandur Rajagopalachari Rangachari cricketer (India 1947-48)
1916 Denis ApIvor composer
1916 Emerson Buckley composer
1917 Valerie Hobson North Ireland, actress (Great Expectations)
1918 Mary Healy New Orleans, actress (2nd Fiddle, He Married his Wife)
1920 Eduardo Maturana composer
1920 John Paul Stevens Supreme Court Justice
1922 David Alexandrovich Toradze composer
1922 Maria Luisa Bemberg film maker
1923 William Darling journalist
1924 Shorty Rogers [Milton M Rajonsky] composer
1925 Abel Muzorewa bishop/premier (Rhodesia)
1925 Bill Harris US guitarist (Clovers-Good Lovin')
1925 H G Kischenchand cricketer (5 Tests for India 1947-52)
1925 Rod Steiger West Hampton NY, actor (Illustrated Man, Pawnbroker, Chosen)
1926 Jan Carl Christian Maegaard composer
1927 Gloria Jean Buffalo NY, actress (Never Give a Sucker an Even Break)
1927 Dany Robin actress (Follow the Boys, Topaz, Jupiter, Julietta)
1928 Robert Mugabe President (Zimbabwe, 1988- )
1929 William Edgar Thornton Faison NC, MD/astronaut (STS-8, 51-B, sk:49)
1930 Bradford Dillman San Francisco CA, actor (Piranha, Sudden Impact, Enforcer)
1930 Jay Robinson New York NY, actor (Born Again, Malibu Bikini Shop)
1930 George W Gekas (Representative-Republican-PA, 1983- )
1933 Buddy Knox Happy TX, rock vocalist (Party Doll, Lovey Dovey)
1933 Morton Subotnick Los Angeles CA, composer (Wild Bull)
1934 Bruce Pairaudeau cricketer (West Indies opening bat in 13 Tests, 115 on debut)
1935 Joan Darling Boston MA, actress (Frieda-Owen Marshall)
1935 Loretta Lynn Butcher's Hollow KY, country singer (Coal Miner's Daughter)
1936 Robert Herman Nichols Louisville KY, PGA golfer (1986 Showdown)
1938 Gloria Dean Randle Scott educator/president (Beaumont College)
1939 Jennifer Fowler composer
1940 Patricia Bruder Brooklyn NY, actress (Ellen-As the World Turns)
1940 George Takei actor (Hikaru Sulu-Star Trek)
1941 Julie Christie Assam India, actress (Dr Zhivago)
1941 Pete Rose Cincinnati OH, baseball player/manager (Cincinnati Reds, Charlie hustle, most hits in majors)
1941 Anatoli Pavlocich Fyodorov cosmonaut
1941 Ryan O'Neal actor (Love Story, Paper Moon)
1942 Valentin Vitaliyevich Lebedev cosmonaut (Soyuz 13, 35, T-5)
1943 Clarice Elaine Gaylord director of research grants (EPA)
1943 Yvonne Vriens-Auerbach Dutch MP (CDA)
1945 Ritchie Blackmore England, guitarist (Rainbow-Stone Cold, Deep Purple)
1945 Uwe Beyer German Democratic Republic, shot-putter (Olympics-gold-1976)
1945 Derek Leckenby rocker/actor (Mrs Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter)
1945 Steve Martin Waco TX, writer/actor (Jerk, Housesitter)
1946 Patrick Fairley guitarist (Marmalade-Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da)
1946 Tom Monteleone American writer (Dark Star & Illumination)
1947 Bob Massie cricketer (Australian swing bowler, 16 wickets on debut vs England 1972)
1948 Chester G Atkins (Representative-Democrat-MA)
1948 John Shea North Conway NH, actor (Honeymoon, New Life, Lois & Clark)
1948 Larry Ferguson Nassau Bahamas, keyboardist (Hot Chocolate-You Sexy Thing)
1948 Ty Grimes rocker (Captain Beefheart Band Drums
1950 Randolph Powell Iowa City IA, actor (Alan-Dallas, Logan's Run)
1950 Anna M "Ansje" Beentjes actress (Blindgangers)
1951 Matima Kinuani Mpiosso musician
1952 Kenny Aaronson rocker
1953 Irina Rudolfovna Pronina Russian cosmonaut
1954 Bruce Sterling US, sci-fi author (Involution Ocean, Schismatrix)
1955 Simone Griffeth Savannah GA, actress (Death Race 2000, Bret Maverick, Amanda's)
1958 Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Prince of Monaco
1958 Michael Patrick Hulbert Elmira NY, PGA golfer (1989 British Columbia Open)
1960 Brian Forster rocker (Partridge Family Drums)
1960 Pat Symcox cricketer (South African off-spinner 1993- )
1961 John Clarke South Bend IN, actor (Michael-Days of Our Lives)
1962 James Carpenter Canton CT, fencer-epee (Olympics-96)
1963 Cynthia Cooper WNBA guard (Houston Comets/Olympics-gold-1988)
1963 Meg Mallon Natick MA, LPGA golfer (1991 US Women's Open)
1964 Allen James Sacramento CA, 50K walker (Olympics-24th-92, 96)
1964 Greg Battle CFL linebacker (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
1964 Jim Grabb Tucson AZ, tennis star
1965 Craig McDermott cricket pace bowler (tireless Australian since 1984)
1965 Stan Humphries NFL quarterback (San Diego Chargers)
1966 David Justice baseball player (Atlanta Braves)/husband of Halle Barry
1966 Greg Maddux San Angelo TX, pitcher (Atlanta Braves)
1966 Greg Myers Riverside CA, catcher (Minnesota Twins)
1966 Ricky Andrews WLAF linebacker (Rhein Fire)
1967 Marla Wynne Easton PA, Miss Pennsylvania-America (1991) (top 10)
1967 Barret Martin rocker (Screaming Trees)
1967 Jeff Finley Edmonton, NHL defenseman (Winnipeg Jets)
1967 Steve Chiasson Barrie, NHL defenseman (Calgary Flames)
1968 Anthony Michael Hall Boston MA, comedian (Saturday Night Live, Breakfast Club)
1968 Andrew Trim Sydney New South Wales Australia, canoeist (Olympics-96)
1968 Jesse Levis Philadephia PA, catcher (Milwaukee Brewers)
1969 Brad Ausmus New Haven CT, catcher (Detroit Tigers)
1969 Brad Pennington Salem IN, pitcher (California Angels)
1969 David Archibald Chilliwack, NHL center (Ottawa Senators)
1969 Mark Macon NBA guard (Detroit Pistons)
1969 Tim Roberts NFL defensive end (New England Patriots)
1970 Brian Stablein NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts)
1970 Jan Siemerink Netherlands, tennis star
1970 Steve Avery Trenton MI, pitcher (Atlanta Braves)
1971 Antonio London NFL linebacker (Detroit Lions)
1971 Gregory Zaun Glendale CA, catcher (Baltimore Orioles)
1972 Jason Mallett CFL safety (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
1972 Zev Lumelski WLAF guard (Amsterdam Admirals)
1974 Mike Allen Lambert Honolulu HI, volleyball opposite hitter (Olympics-96)
1975 Petra Begerow Germany, tennis star (1996 quarter Hilton Head)
1976 Baedon Choppy Australian field hockey forward (Olympics-96)
1976 Jason Wiemer Kimberley, NHL left wing (Tampa Bay Lightning)
1977 Sarah Michelle Gellar actress (Kendall-All My Children, Buffy)
__________________________________________________________________

Deaths which occurred on April 14:

0711 Childebert III king of French, dies at about 27
0911 Sergius III Italian Pope (904-11), dies
1099 Conrad bishop of Utrecht, stabbed to death
1240 Llywelyn ap Iorwerth Prince of Wales, dies
1427 John IV duke of Brabant, dies
1433 Liduina van Schiedam Dutch mystic (Christ's Bride)/saint, dies at 53
1471 Richard Neville Warwick 2nd earl of Salisbury, dies at 42
1552 Laurentius Andreae [Lars Andersson] Swedish church reformer, dies
1574 Christoffel Palts German General strategist, dies in battle
1574 Hendrik count of Nassau-Dillenburg, dies in battle
1574 Louis earl of Nassau-Dillenburg, dies in battle at 35
1655 Johann Erasmus Kindermann composer, dies at 39
1692 Carlos de Gurrea Spanish viceroy (Spanish Netherlands), dies
1695 Jean de la Fontaine French poet (Fables), dies at 73
1759 Georg Frideric Händel organist/composer (Watermusic), dies at 74
1764 Peder [Nielsen] Horrebow Danish astronomer, dies at 84
1768 François de Cuvilliés Belgian architect of Bayern, dies
1813 Joachim Nicolas Eggert composer, dies at 34
1843 Joseph Franz Karl Lanner Austria, composer/violist, dies at 42
1874 Hermanus J Abbring Dutch author/engineer on Curaçao, dies at 86
1888 William Fisk Sherwin composer, dies at 62
1913 Karl Hagenbeck German animal trainer (Von Tieren), dies at 68
1914 Paul Ehrenreich German etnologist/mythologist, dies at 58
1915 James Hutton Brew "Pioneer of West African Journalism", dies
1917 Lew [Lejzer L] Zamenhof Polish doc/linguist (Esperanto), dies at 57
1924 Louis H Sullivan architect (Wainwright building St Louis), dies at 67
1924 Roland Napoleon Bonaparte French officer/explorer (Surinam), dies at 65
1925 Pieter D van Essen Dutch artillery officer, dies at 54
1930 W Majakowski writer, dies at 36
1934 Gerald du Maurier British actor-manager (Unmarried, Escape), dies
1934 Karl Dane dies at 57
1941 Jack Edmonson Australian corporal in Tobruk (Victoria Cross), dies
1943 Asser B Kleerekoper SDAP-Second-Member of parliament, dies at 62
1943 Geoffrey Turton Shaw composer, dies at 63
1948 Gerhard Anschütz German professor, dies at 81
1948 Walter P Reuther President (United Auto Workers), shot at his home
1949 Joseph A Cushman US paleontologist, dies at 68
1953 Emmanuel K de Bom Flemish writer (Scheldelucht), dies at 84
1960 Archibald McIndoe plastic surgeon, dies
1964 Earle Hodgins actor (Guestward Ho!), dies at 64
1964 Bert McGirr cricketer (2 Tests for New Zealand, 51 runs), dies
1964 Rachel L Carson US biologist/author (Silent spring), dies at 56
1965 Leonard Mudie dies of heart ailment at 82
1965 Perry E Smith US murderer (In Cold Blood), hanged
1965 Robert E Hickok US murderer (In Cold Blood), hanged
1971 Armand Spitz developer of small educational planetarium, dies
1973 Magda Janssens Flemish actress (Nederlands in 7 Lessons), dies at 88
1973 Minna Gombell dies in Santa Monica CA
1975 Fredric March actor, (Inherit the Wind, The Iceman Cometh, Death of a Salesman), dies from cancer at 77
1976 Maude Prickett actress (Rosie-Hazel), dies at 60
1976 Gerard Romsée Flemish nationalist, dies at 74
1977 Riekus Waskowsky Dutch poet, dies at 44
1980 Tom Fadden actor (Duffeild-Broken Arrow, Cimarron City), dies at 84
1983 Nina Dumbadze Russian discus thrower (Olympics-bronze-1952), dies at 64
1983 Pete Farndon rock bassist (Pretenders), dies
1983 Willem F Bon Dutch composer, dies at 42
1985 Reginald Beane pianist (Starlit Time, Once Upon a Tune), dies at 63
1985 Enver Hoxha Albanian leader (1944-85), dies
1986 Jean Genêt French, playwright (Lesson Nègres), dies at 75
1986 Simone de Beauvoir French author (Deuxième Sexe), dies at 86
1987 Karl Holler composer, dies at 79
1988 Herbert Reynolds Inch composer, dies at 83
1988 Johan Franco composer, dies at 79
1989 Lance Pierre cricketer (Test West Indies vs England 1948, DNB, 7 overs 0-28), dies
1990 Martin Kessel writer, dies on 89th birthday
1990 Peter Dunn actor (Invaders from Mars) dies
1992 David Miller dies of cancer at 82
1992 Sammy Price US boogie-woogie pianist, dies
1993 Jo Boer Dutch painter/writer/author (Heir, dies at 85
1993 Sam Ntombani ANC-Secretary in Soweto South-Africa, shot to death
1994 Harry Touw Dutch comic (Fred Haché Show), dies at 70
1994 Selometsi Baholo vice-premier of Lesotho, murdered
1995 Brian Coffey poet, dies at 89
1995 Burl Ives folk singer/actor (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), dies at 85
1995 Donald Keech entrepreneur, dies at 74
1995 James Daniel "Danny" Turner saxophonist, dies at 75
1995 Michael Scott Montague Fordham jungian analyst educator, dies at 89
1996 Benjamin "Zik" Azikiwe Nnamdi politician, dies at 91
1996 Gaylord Birch drummer (Pointer Sisters, Herbie Hancock), dies at 50
1996 Manuel A "Manny" Greenhill record producer, dies at 80
1996 Mervyn Levy artist/critic, dies at 81
1996 William K Everson film historian, dies at 67

1775 First American abolition society founded in Philadelphia

The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage, the first American society dedicated to the cause of abolition, is founded in Philadelphia on this day in 1775. The society changes its name to the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage in 1784.

Leading Quaker educator and abolitionist Anthony Benezet called the society together two years after he persuaded the Quakers to create the Negro School at Philadelphia. Benezet was born in France to a Huguenot (French Protestant) family that had fled to London in order to avoid persecution at the hands of French Catholics. The family eventually migrated to Philadelphia when Benezet was 17. There, he joined the Society of Friends (Quakers) and began a career as an educator. In 1750, Benezet began teaching slave children in his home after regular school hours, and in 1754, established the first girls’ school in America. With the help of fellow Quaker John Woolman, Benezet persuaded the Philadelphia Quaker Yearly Meeting to take an official stance against slavery in 1758.

Benezet’s argument for abolition found a trans-Atlantic audience with the publication of his tract Some Historical Account of Guinea, written in 1772. Benezet counted Benjamin Franklin and John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, among his sympathetic correspondents. He died in 1784; his funeral was attended by 400 black Philadelphians. His society was renamed in that year, and in 1787, Benjamin Franklin lent his prestige to the organization, serving as its president.
__________________________________________________________________

1865 Lincoln is shot

John Wilkes Booth shoots President Abraham Lincoln at a play at Ford's Theater in Washington.

Five days earlier, Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered his army to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The war was nearly over, although there were still Confederate forces yet to surrender. The president had recently visited the captured Rebel capital of Richmond, and now Lincoln sought a relaxing evening by attending a production of Our American Cousin starring Laura Keene. Ford's Theater, seven blocks from the White House, was crammed with people trying to catch a glimpse of Grant, who was rumored to be in attendance. The general and his wife had cancelled abruptly for an out-of-town trip.

Lincoln occupied a booth above the stage with his wife; Henry Rathbone, a young army officer; and his fiancýe, Clara Harris, daughter of New York Senator Ira Harris. The Lincolns arrived late for the comedy, but the president was in a fine mood and laughed heartily during the production. At 10:15, Booth slipped into the box and fired his .44-caliber single-shot derringer into the back of Lincoln's head. Rathbone rushed Booth, who stabbed the soldier in the shoulder. Booth then leapt from the president's box to the stage below, breaking his leg as he landed. He shouted, "Sic semper tyrannis!" ("Thus ever to tyrants!"--the Virginia state motto) and ran from the stage. There was a pause, as the crowd initially thought the unfolding drama was part of the production, but a scream from Mrs. Lincoln told them otherwise. The stricken president was carried from the box to a house across the street, where he died the following morning.

Booth was one of the most famous actors of his day, and Lincoln had seen him perform. He was a Maryland native with southern sympathies who hoped to aid the Confederacy by taking out the Union's political leadership in one night. With Confederate president Jefferson Davis still free and General Joseph Johnston's army still alive in the Carolinas, Booth thought the Confederate cause was not yet lost. He sent George Atzerodt to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson and Lewis Paine to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward. Atzerodt could not muster the courage to carry out his assignment, but Paine burst into Seward's home and stabbed him as lay sick in bed. Although seriously wounded, Seward eventually recovered.
___________________________________________________________________

1916 Battle of Lake Naroch ends

The Battle of Lake Naroch, an offensive on the Eastern Front by the Russian army during World War I, ends on this day in 1916 after achieving little success against German positions near Lake Naroch and the Russian town of Vilna (in modern-day Lithuania).

With French forces under heavy attack at the fortress town of Verdun, French Commander in Chief Joseph Joffre called on his allies in early 1916 to launch offensive operations of their own in order to divert German resources and ease pressure on Verdun. Britain’s answer to this entreaty would come only months later, at the Somme in June. Czar Nicholas II and the Russian chief of staff, General Mikhail Alekseyev, responded more quickly, with a planned offensive drive in the Vilna-Naroch region, where 1.5 million Russian soldiers would face just 1 million combined German and Austro-Hungarian troops. In their haste to come to France’s aid, however, the Russian command seemed to overestimate the capability and preparedness of their own troops, especially against the well-trained, well-organized German army machine.

The Russian offensive, launched on March 18, 1916, began with a two-day-long artillery bombardment (the longest yet seen on the Eastern Front) against the Germans that for the most part failed to do the planned damage due to inaccuracy. Russian infantry troops from the Tenth Army, commanded by General Alexei Evert, then moved forward against a heavily fortified German defense, suffering heavy casualties. Due to the spring thaw, many of the approaching infantrymen became bogged down in the mud, slowing the offensive; the lack of an effective supply system also hurt the Russians, as the battle stretched on for almost a month. A smaller operation near Riga, begun on March 21 by the northern Russian army division of General Alexei Kuropatkin, met with equal results.

By the time artillery attacks were shut down on April 14, the Germans had recovered the entirety of what little ground they had lost. Russian casualties numbered 110,000, while the Germans lost only 20,000. Both armies’ casualty rates were boosted by deaths due to exposure to the harsh northern weather: 12,000 Russian soldiers died from frostbite.

Also on April 14, as battle concluded around Lake Naroch, General Alexei Brusilov, commander of the Russian South-west Army, presented his plan for an ambitious attack along a broad stretch of the Eastern Front, to take place within the coming month. Like the British with their Somme offensive, Brusilov saw the heavy German involvement at Verdun as an opportunity to launch new attacks elsewhere. The famed Brusilov Offensive, launched June 4, 1916, would secure more territory than any other Allied offensive of the war and would succeed not only in diverting German attention and resources from Verdun but would also nearly knock Austria-Hungary out of the war.

Meanwhile, in the British trenches on the Western Front that same day, Winston Churchill, then in command of an infantry battalion, wrote to his wife, Clementine, expressing anxiety over the planned increase in fighting on all fronts due to the upcoming Allied offensives: “I greatly fear the general result. More than I have ever done before, I realize the stupendous nature of the task; and the unwisdom with which our affairs are conducted makes me almost despair at times of a victorious issue…Do you think we should succeed in an offensive, if the Germans cannot do it at Verdun with all their skill and science?”
___________________________________________________________________

1945 U.S. Fifth Army joins in Italian offensive

On this day in 1945, the U.S. Fifth Army joins its British allies in the assault on the German occupiers of Italy.

The Fifth Army, now under Lucian K. Truscott (General Mark Clark, former commander of the Fifth, was made commander of the Allied armies in Italy), began pushing its way up the peninsula, capturing Massa and crossing the Frigido River. After meeting considerable German resistance in the mountains, the Fifth sent the Germans running once the battle took to open country. Bologna became the next target, falling to the Fifth one week after engaging the enemy in Italy. Ferrara, Bondeno, and Modena succumbed shortly thereafter, Genoa on the 27th, and Milan on the 29th--an agenda of assaults that mimicked Napoleon's Italian campaigns. Helping the U.S. effort was the work of Italian guerilla partisan groups, who had successfully taken control of the area west of the Como-Milan-Genoa line. By the time of the unconditional surrender of the Germans, signed at Caserta on April 29, almost 660,000 Axis troops lay dead--compared with 321,000 Allied dead.
__________________________________________________________________

1965 173rd Airborne Brigade ordered to South Vietnam

The Joint Chiefs of Staff order the deployment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade from Okinawa to South Vietnam. The 173rd arrived in Vietnam in May 1965 and was the first major U.S. Army ground combat unit committed to the war.

Headquartered at Bien Hoa Air Base near Saigon from May 1965 to October 1967, the brigade conducted combat operations in the region surrounding Saigon. In November 1967, the brigade fought a major battle with North Vietnamese Army forces at Dak To in the Central Highlands, winning the Presidential Union Citation for bravery in action. After more than six years in South Vietnam, the 173rd was withdrawn from Vietnam in August 1971 as part of President Richard Nixon's troop withdrawal program.

During combat service in Vietnam, 12 troopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade won the Medal of Honor for conspicuous bravery; 1,606 were killed in action; and 8,435 were wounded in action.
_____________________________________________________________________

1975 Operation "Baby Lift" concludes

The American airlift of Vietnamese orphans to the United States ends after 2,600 children are transported to America. The operation began disastrously on April 4 when an Air Force cargo jet crashed shortly after take-off from Tan Son Nhut airbase in Saigon. More than 138 of the passengers, mostly children, were killed. Operation Baby Lift was initiated to bring South Vietnamese orphans to the United States for adoption by American parents. Baby Lift lasted 10 days and was carried out during the final, desperate phase of the war, as North Vietnamese forces were closing in on Saigon. Although the first flight ended in tragedy, all other flights took place without incident, and Baby Lift aircraft ferried orphans across the Pacific until the mission concluded on April 14, only 16 days before the fall of Saigon and the end of the war.