On This Day in History...

0556 Pelagius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1346 King Stefanus IX of Serbia proclaims himself czar of Greece
1509 French army under Louis XII enters Alps
1521 Martin Luther arrives at Diet of Worms
1632 Albrecht von Wallenstein appointed supreme commander
1705 Queen Anne of England knights Isaac Newton at Trinity College
1724 1st Easter observed
1746 Battle at Culloden Troops of "James VIII & III" defeat Charles Stuart
1777 Battle of Bennington-New England's Green Mountain Boys rout British
1787 1st American comedy, "The Contrast", makes its debut in NYC
1789 George Washington heads for 1st presidential inauguration
1818 Senate ratifies Rush-Bagot amendment (unarmed US-Canada border)
1849 The opera "Il Profeta" premieres (Paris France)
1854 San Salvador destroyed by earthquake
1854 Steamer "Long Beach" sinks off Long Beach NY, 311 die
1854 Franz Liszt's "Mazeppa", premieres
1861 US President Abraham Lincoln outlaws business with confederate states
1862 Confederate President Jefferson Davis approves conscription act for white males between 18-35
1862 Slavery abolished in District of Columbia
1865 Battle of Columbus & West Point GA (Fort Tyler)
1866 Nitroglycerine at Wells Fargo & Company office explodes
1866 Karakozov attempts to assassinate Tsar Alexander II of Russia
1868 Louisiana voters approve new constitution
1869 Ebenezer Bassett, 1st US Negro diplomat, begins service in Haiti
1870 Vaudeville Theatre Strand opens in London
1871 German Empire ends all anti-Jewish civil restrictions
1874 Dr David Livingstones corpse arrives in Southampton
1883 Paul Kruger chosen President of Transvaal
1888 Drentse & Friese peat cutters go on strike
1900 US Post Office issues 1st books of postage stamps
1908 Natural Bridges National Monument established (Lake Powell UT)
1912 Harriet Quimby becomes 1st woman pilot to cross the English Channel
1912 Pittsburgh Pirates turn a rare 5-3-7 doubleplay (left fielder covers 2nd base)
1917 Lenin returns to Russia to start Bolshevik Revolution
1921 Liberal Freedom League forms in The Hague
1922 Annie Oakley sets record by breaking 100 clay targets in a row
1922 German-Russia treaty signed in Italy, Soviet Union recognized
1924 1st radio-transmission of wireless Matthäus Passion
1924 Child labor laws strengthened in Holland
1926 Book of the Month Club sends out its 1st selections "Lolly Willowes" & "Loving Huntsman" by Sylvia Townsend Warner
1929 Cleveland Indian Earl Averill, becomes 1st in American League to hit a homerun on 1st at bat
1929 New York Yankees become 1st team to use numbers on uniforms
1935 1st radio broadcast of "Fibber McGee & Molly"
1935 Babe Ruth's 1st National League game, for Boston Braves, included a homerun
1938 Great-Britain recognizes Italian annexation of Abyssinia
1939 Stalin requests British, French & Russian anti-nazi pact
1939 Stanley Cup Boston Bruins beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1
1940 1st televised baseball game, WGN-TV, (White Sox vs Cubs exhibition)
1940 Cleveland Indian Bob Feller hurls an opening day no-hitter vs Chicago, 1-0
1940 Heitor Villa-Lobos' opera "Izaht", premieres in Rio de Janeiro
1941 Little Theater at Adelphi Strand closes
1942 Japanese occupying army on Java installs film censorship
1942 King George VI awards George Cross to Island of Malta
1943 40 New Zealand bombers attack Haarlem Netherlands (85 killed)
1945 German troops in Groningen surrender
1945 Red Army begins Battle of Berlin
1945 US troops land on He Shima Okinawa
1946 1st US launch of captured V-2 rocket, White Sands NM; 8 km altitude
1946 NSB mayor of Rotterdam Netherlands, FE Müller sentence to 100 years in jail
1947 Lens to provide zoom effects demonstrated (New York NY)
1947 Massive explosion & fire kills 500 in Texas City TX
1947 Explosions & fire on French ship Grandcamp
1948 Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris France
1949 Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs sweep Detroit Red Wings in 4 games
1951 British submarine Affray sank in English Channel, killing 75
1952 "4 Saints in 3 Acts" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 15 performances
1953 Phillie's Connie Ryan gets 6 hits in a game
1953 British royal yacht Britannica taken out of service
1953 Jackie Pung wins LPGA Palm Springs Golf Open
1953 Stanley Cup Montréal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 4 games to 1
1953 WAND TV channel 17 in Decatur IL (ABC) begins broadcasting
1954 KVAL TV channel 13 in Eugene OR (CBS) begins broadcasting
1954 Stanley Cup Detroit Red Wings beat Montréal Canadiens, 4 games to 3
1956 1st solar powered radios go on sale
1957 Stanley Cup Montréal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 4 games to 1
1957 USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
1958 22nd Golf Masters Championship Arnold Palmer wins, shooting a 284
1958 French government of Gaillard falls due to Tunisia crisis
1959 New York Yankees unveil their 1st message scoreboard
1959 Phillies' Dave Philley gets a major league record 9th straight pinch hit
1959 "Party with Comden & Green" opens at John Golden NYC for 44 performances
1959 Datu Abdul Rozak inaugurated as premier of Malaysia federation
1961 15th Tony Awards Becket & Bye Bye Birdie win
1961 Louise Suggs wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Open
1961 Stanley Cup Chicago Blackhawks beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 2
1962 Walter Cronkite begins anchoring CBS Evening News
1962 Brazil nationalizes US businesses
1964 9 men sentenced 25-30 years for Britain's 1963 "Great Train Robbery"
1965 Test flight of heavy Saturn S-1C-rocket
1966 Rhodesian PM Ian Smith breaks diplomatic relations with Britain
1967 Yankees beat Boston 7-6 in 18 innings
1967 "Walking Happy" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 161 performances
1970 70 die in an avalanche (France)
1972 2 giants pandas (Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing) arrive in the US, from China
1972 Apollo 16 launched; 5th manned lunar landing (Decartes Highlands)
1972 Chicago Cub Burt Hooton no-hits Phillies, 1-0
1972 "That's Entertainment" closes at Edison Theater NYC after 4 performances
1972 1st Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Jane Blalock
1974 200,000 attend rock concert California Jam I in Ontario CA
1974 "Words & Music" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 127 performances
1974 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1975 Cambodian Red Khmer occupy Phnom Penh
1977 Alex Haley finds his Roots in Juffure, Gambia
1978 St Louis Cardinal Bob Forsch no-hits Phillies, 5-0
1978 "History of the American Film" closes at ANTA NYC after 21 performances
1978 Hollis Stacy wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic
1979 15th Mayor's Trophy Game, Yankees & Mets tie 1-1
1979 83rd Boston Marathon won by Bill Rodgers of Massachusetts in 2:09:27
1979 8th Boston Women's Marathon won by Joan Benoit Samuelson in 2:35:15
1979 Failed Palestinian attack on Zaventem Airport in Belgium
1979 Pulitzer prize awarded to Sam Shepard for "Buried Child"
1980 Arthur Ashe retires from professional tennis
1980 Delhi beat Bombay by 240 runs to win Ranji Trophy final
1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1981 Columbia space shuttle returns
1981 "Copperfield" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 13 performances
1982 Queen Elizabeth proclaims Canada's new constitution
1983 Steve Garvey sets National League record by playing in 1,118 consecutive games
1984 13th Boston Women's Marathon won by Lorraine Moller of New Zealand in 2:29:28
1984 88th Boston Marathon won by Geoff Smith of Great Britain in 2:10:34
1984 Oakland A Dave Kingman hits 3 homeruns including a grand slam
1984 Pulitzer prize awarded to Mary Oliver for "American Primitive"
1985 Washington Capitals 1-New York Islanders 2-Patrick Division Semifinals-Islanders win series 3-2
1985 "Grind" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 79 performances
1986 To dispel rumors he's dead, Moammar Qadhafi appears on TV
1986 West Indies complete 5-0 demolition of England
1987 FCC imposes a broader definition of indecency over airwaves
1987 Michael Jordan, becomes 2nd NBA to score 3000 points in a season
1987 Peter Taylor's "Summons to Memphis" wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction
1987 Howard Stern & Infinity Broadcasting are warned by FCC
1987 Pulitzer prize awarded to August Wilson for "Fences"
1989 Costa Rica beats US 1-0, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup
1989 1st Seniors Golf Tradition Don Bies wins
1989 Berendrechtsluis opens in Antwerp, biggest flood lock in world
1989 Pat Bradley wins LPGA AI Star/Centinela Hospital Golf Classic
1989 Zeleka Metaferia wins 3rd World Cup marathon (2:10:28)
1990 Maximum New York State unemployment benefits raised to $260 per week
1990 "Piano Lesson" opens at Walter Kerr Theater NYC for 320 performances
1990 19th Boston Women's Marathon won by Rosa Mota of Portugal in 2:25:23
1990 94th Boston Marathon won by Gelindo Bordin of Italy in 2:08:19
1990 Supreme Court rejects appeal from retarded man, Dalton Prejean, condemned to death for murdering a Louisiana state trooper in 1977
1991 Mike Leander & Edward Seago's musical "Matador", premieres in London
1991 St Louis Blues becomes 8th NHL team in Play-off to come back from a 3-1 deficit as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in game 7
1992 "Metro" opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 13 performances
1992 1st concrete is poured at new ballpark at Gateway (Jacobs Field)
1992 Afghánistán President Najibullah resigns
1992 New York Rangers win team record 50th game
1993 Jury reaches guilty verdict in Federal case against cop who beat Rodney King, but the verdict is not read until April 17th
1994 Circus performers Marissa Young (24) & Matt Richardson (21) wed
1994 Singer Harry Connick Jr (26) weds model Jill Goodacre (30)
1995 56th PGA Seniors Golf Championship Ray Floyd wins
1997 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Minneapolis/St Paul MN on WRQC 100.3 FM
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Missing In Action....

1966 CHESLEY LARRY J. BURLEY ID 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV
1966 JOHNSON SAMUEL R. DALLAS TX 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV
1969 KONYU WILLIAM M. PHILLIPSBURG NJ
1970 AYERS RICHARD L. WATERLOO IA
1970 RAUSCH ROBERT E. HICKSVILLE NY
1972 JONES ORVIN C. JR. NEWPORT NEWS VA
1972 MATEJA ALAN P. LOUISVILLE KY
1975 LEWIS JAMES F. 10/75 RELEASED FROM HANOI

Births which occurred on April 16:

1628 Cornelis Evertsen de Young Vice Admiral of Zealand
1635 Frans van Mieris the Elder, Dutch painter
1648 John Luyken poet/etcher (Duytse Lyre)
1652 Clement XII [Lorenzo Corsini], Italy, Pope (1730-40)
1660 Hans Sloane England, physician/naturalist; founded British Museum
1673 Francesco Feroci composer
1682 John Hadley mathematician/inventor (1st reflecting telescope)
1696 Giovanni Battista Tupolo Italian painter
1697 Johann Gottlieb Gorner composer
1703 Caffarelli [Gaetano Majorano] Italian castra singer/duke
1728 Joseph Zwart Scottish chemist/physicist
1800 Jozef Stefani composer
1800 William Chambers author/publisher (Basis of Communication & Coding)
1808 Caleb Blood Smith Secretary of Interior (Union), died in 1864
1816 Edward "Old Allegheny" Johnson Major General (Confederate Army)
1820 Georg Curtius German classical linguist
1821 Ford Maddox Brown painter
1823 Mother Joseph [Esther Pariseau] religious leader (US capital)
1823 Orlando Bolivar Wilcox Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1907
1832 John A Neuhuys painter
1838 Karel Bendl composer
1844 Anatole France writer (Thaïs, The Wickerwork Woman)/Nobel 1921
1850 Herbert Baxter Adams US, historian (American Historical Association)
1851 Ernst Josephson Sweden, artist
1861 Isaac Murphy US jockey (won 628 races)
1867 José de Diego Puerto Rico, patriot/Puerto Rican Secretary of Justice
1867 Wilbur Wright of aeronautical fame (Wright Brothers)
1868 Joel Angel Russian musicologist/composer
1868 Spottiswoode Aitken Edinburgh Scotland, actor (Eagle, Home Sweet Home)
1871 John Millington Synge Ireland, dramatist/poet (Riders to the Sea)
1871 Martin Lunssens composer
1878 R E "Tip" Foster cricketer (287 on debut England vs Australia SCG 1903)
1881 Edward Frederick Wood 1st Earl of Halifax/ambassador to US (1940-46)
1882 Seth Bingham composer
1885 Leo Weiner Hungary, composer (Fasching)
1886 Ernst Thälmann German communist presidential candidate
1886 Jekabs Graubins composer
1886 Konstantin Mostras composer
1889 Charlie Chaplin [The Little Tramp] Lambeth London England, comedian/actor/director (City Lights)
1893 Federico Mompou composer
1893 Joseph Yasser composer
1897 Arthur Charles Ernest Hoeree composer
1897 Jaap Vranken Dutch organist/composer (Stabat Mater)
1897 John B Glubb British commandant/writer (A soldier with the Arabs)
1898 Marian Jordan Peoria IL, radio comedienne (Fibber McGee & Molly)
1900 Polly Adler Russia, bordello proprieter/author (House is not a Home)
1901 Karel Albert Flemish composer (Marieken van Nymeghen)
1901 Leo Poos nazi police officer (caught Dutch underground agents)
1904 Clifford Case (Senator-Republican-NJ)
1904 Lily Pons Draguignan France, soprano/diva (Hitting a New High)
1904 Fifi D'Orsay Montréal Québec Canada, actress (Life Jimmy Dolan, Girl from Calgary)
1905 John Lee-Barber Admiral
1906 Pigmeat Markham Durham NC, comedian (Here Comes da Judge-Laugh In)
1906 Bep [Elisa H] Bakhuis Dutch soccer star/writer
1906 Cobina W "Coby" Molenaar Dutch peace activist
1906 Marion Lloyd Vince Brooklyn NY, fencer (National champion 1928, 31)
1909 Herman Uyttersprot Flemish literature historian
1911 Christine McIntyre actress (3 Stooges movies)
1911 William Stearn botanist
1912 David Langton Scotland, actor (Quintet, St Joan, Abandon Ship)
1912 John Halas animator
1913 Les Tremayne London, actor (Angry Red Planet, War of the Worlds)
1913 Constance Shacklock opera singer
1913 Lord Aberconway CEO (John Brown & Company)
1914 John Hodiak Pittsburgh PA, actor (A Bell for Adamo, Lifeboat)
1915 Dany [Daniël S] Tuijnman head of Dutch traffic & water
1915 Gerard McLarnon actor/writer
1918 Spike Milligan Ahmed Nagar India, actor/comedian (Digby, 3 Musketeers)
1919 Merce Cunningham choreographer (Acrobat in Every Soul is a Circus)
1920 Barry Nelson Oakland, actor (Airport, My Favorite Husband)
1920 John William Farr Detroit MI, bank robber (FBI Most Wanted List)
1920 Dermot O'Callaghan Grubb prison governor
1920 Kees Scherer Dutch photographer (World Press Photo)
1921 Peter Ustinov London England, actor (Death on Nile, Logan's Run, Billy Budd)
1922 Kingsley Amis London England, novelist (Lucky Jim, The James Bond Dossier)
1922 Christopher Samuel Youd UK, sci-fi author (Tripods Trilogy)
1922 Leo Tindermans British statesman
1924 Geoffrey Johnson Smith actor (Norman Loves Rose, Drinking Games)
1924 Henry Mancini Cleveland OH, composer/conductor (Pink Panther)
1924 John Harvey-Jones CEO (ICI)
1926 Barbara Tizzard British educator
1927 Peter Mark Richman Philadelphia PA, actor (Andrew-Dynasty)
1927 Joseph Ratzinger German theologist/dogmaticus
1928 Dick [Night Train] Lane NFL defensive back (St Louis Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions)
1929 Roy Hamilton singer (You'll Never Walk Alone)
1930 Herbie Mann Brooklyn NY, jazz flute/sax (Just Wallin')
1930 Frank Page British broadcaster/actor (Hudson Hawk, Dark Dancer)
1930 John Robson British ambassador (Norway)
1931 Edie Adams [Elizabeth Edith Enke] Kingston PA, actress/Mrs Ernie Kovacs (Ernie Kovacs Show, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Haunting of Harrington House)
1931 Piet de Visser economist/Dutch MP (PvdA)
1932 Imre Polyak Hungary, featherweight (Olympics-gold-1964)
1932 Vince Hill singer (Roses of Picardy, La Vie en Rose)
1933 Perry Botkin Jr New York NY, orchestra leader (Bert Convy Show)
1933 Joan Bakewell British broadcaster/actress (Cold Comfort Farm)
1933 Joseph Bottoms Santa Barbara CA, actor (Blind Date, Braker)
1934 Brian Peppiatt joint CEO (SG Warburg Securities)
1934 Geoffrey Owen British editor (Financial Times)
1934 Richard Kenshaw British broadcaster
1934 Robert Stigwood producer (Saturday Night Fever, Grease)
1935 Bobby Vinton Pittsburgh PA, singer (Roses are Red, Blue on Blue)
1935 Haskell "Cool Papa" Sadler blues singer/guitarist
1936 James Rand British judge (Advocate General)
1938 Michael Hirst chief constable (Leicestershire England)
1939 Dusty Springfield [Mary Isabel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien] Hampstead London England, rock vocalist (Growing Pains)
1939 Donald MacCormick British broadcaster
1939 John DeLaFose zydeco Musician
1939 Margaretha de Boer Dutch minister (PvdA)
1939 Reinier Lucassen Dutch painter (Kuifje contra James Union)
1940 Margrethe II queen of Denmark (1972- )
1940 David Holford cricketer (cousin of G S Sobers West Indies leg-spin all-rounder)
1940 Lord Camoys deputy CEO (Barclays de Zoete Wedd)
1940 Paul Cox actor (Exile, Golden Braid, Touch Me)
1940 Stephen Lawrence Pruslin composer
1941 Cliff Stearns (Representative-Republican-FL)
1943 Ewald Vanvugt author (Kiss of Delight, Seed of Love)
1943 Johnny Watkins cricketer (New South Wales leg-spinner, bowled 6 overs for Australia)
1943 Ruth Madoc actress (Hi Di Hi)
1944 Dennis Russell Davies composer
1945 Goran Antunac Yugoslavia, International Chess Master (1975)
1945 Stefan Grossman New York NY, country blues singer (Yazoo Basin Boogie)
1947 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar [Lew Alcindor] NBA center (Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers)
1947 Gerry Rafferty Paisley Scotland, guitarist/vocalist (Baker Street)
1950 David Graf Lancaster OH, actor (Police Academy 2, 3, 4, 6, Councilman Nash-He's the Mayor)
1951 John Bentley rocker
1952 Peter Westbrook St Louis MO, US fencer (Olympics-bronze-88, 92, 96)
1953 Jay O Sanders Austin TX, actor (Meeting Venus, V I Warshawski)
1955 Ellen Barkin Bronx NY, actress (Big Easy, Sea of Love, Switch)
1955 Charlotte Morrison English large landowner/multi-millionaire
1955 Henri Heir Apparent Prince of Luxembourg
1956 David M Brown Arlington VA, Commander USN/astronaut
1956 Marty Dickerson Middletown OH, golfer (1994 ShopRite Classic-22nd)
1958 Philip Bainbridge British cricketeer
1959 Anne Kursinski equestrian show jumper (Olympics-silver-96)
1962 David Pate Los Angeles CA, tennis star
1962 Ian MacKaye rocker (Cyrano de Bergerac)
1962 Jeanne Golay Coral Gables FL, cyclist (Olympics-16th-92, 96)
1963 Jimmy Osmond Ogden UT, singer (Donnie & Marie)
1963 Nick Berry Britain, actor (Wicksy-EastEnders)
1963 Garry Galley Montréal Québec Canada, NHL defenseman (Buffalo Sabres)
1963 Hu Na China, tennis star
1963 Salim Malik cricketer (memorable Pakistani & Essex batsman)
1964 Dave Pirner rocker (Soul Asylum)
1964 Robert Kelker-Kelly Wichita KS, (Bo-Days of our Live)
1965 Jon Cryer actor (Pretty in Pink, Superman IV)
1965 Caren Kemner Quincy IL, volleyball outside hitter (Olympics-bronze-92, 96)
1965 Gerardo rocker
1965 Martin Lawrence comedian (Martin)
1966 Lewis Tillman NFL running back (Chicago Bears)
1967 Charles Evans NFL running back (Minnesota Vikings)
1968 Grace Kim Korea, tennis star
1969 Fernando Vina Sacramento CA, infielder (Milwaukee Brewers)
1969 Melinda Rich Muskegon MI, WPVA volleyballer (US Open-13th-1993)
1970 Fran Robinson California, actress (Lauren-Charlie & Company)
1970 Ian Franklin CFL cornerback (Edmonton Eskimos)
1970 Steve Emtman NFL defensive tackle (Miami Dolphins)
1970 Walt Williams NBA forward/guard (Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat)
1971 Frederik Nilsson Stockholm Sweden, IHL forward (Team Sweden, Kansas City (IHL))
1971 Natasha Zvereva Minsk Belarus, tennis ace (finals 1995 Indian Wells)
1971 Selena [Quintanilla Perez] Lake Jackson TX, tejano singer (Grammy-1994)
1971 Trey Maples Wheat Ridge CO, Canadian Tour golfer (1993 Canadian)
1972 Conchita Martinez Monzon Spain, tennis star (1996 final Indian Wells)
1972 Jim Ballard NFL/WLAF quarterback (Scottish Claymores, Buffalo Bills)
1972 Mario Bradley WLAF cornerback (London Monarchs)
1975 Nicky Sualua NFL fullback (Dallas Cowboys)
1976 Lukas Haas West Hoolywood CA, actor (Mars Attacks, Lady in White, Witness, Music Box, Testament, Leap of Faith)
1980 Jesse Tendler Madison WI, actor (Nick-Ellen Burstyn Show)
1987 Milton J Cross New York NY, TV announcer (Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air)
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Deaths which occurred on April 16:

1115 Svjatopolk II great monarch of Kiev, dies [or 1113]
1446 Filippo Brunelleschi architect, dies
1496 David van Bourgondie Bishop of Utrecht (1456-96), dies at about 69
1529 Louis de Berquin French humanist/reformer/heretic, burned at stake
1619 Denijs Calvaert/Caluwaert [Dionisio Fiamingo] Flemish painter, dies
1687 George Villiers 2nd duke of Buckingham dies at 59
1743 Cornelis van Bijnkershoek Dutch lawyer (Roman law), dies at 69
1756 Jacques Cassini French astronomer (Discover rings of Saturn), dies at 79
1760 Laurence 4th Earl Ferrers, executed for murder of his steward
1825 John Henry Fuseli painter/art writer (Tracks in the Snow), dies at 84
1828 Francisco Goya y Lucientes Spanish painter/cartoonist, dies at 82
1846 Domenico Dragonetti composer, dies at 83
1850 Marie [Gresholtz] Tussaud maker of wax figures, dies
1858 Johann Baptist Cramer German/British pianist/composer/publisher, dies at 87
1860 Carolina duchess of Berry/daughter of crown prince of Naples, dies
1865 Robert C Tyler US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle
1870 Anatoli O Demidov Russian ruler of Donato/traveller, dies
1876 Augustin-Philippe Peellaert composer, dies at 83
1879 Bernadette saint/(saw Virgin Mary at Lourdes), dies in Nevers France
1881 George William Martin composer, dies at 56
1914 George W Hill US astronomer (moon orbit), dies at 76
1916 Tom Horan cricketer (15 Tests for Australia, 471 runs, 11 wickets), dies
1920 John Conrad Nordqvist composer, dies at 80
1924 Jack Board cricket wicket-keeper (England in 6 Tests 1898-1906), dies
1929 Abraham van Stolk Jzn art collector, dies at 57
1938 Bertram Wagstaff Mills circus proprietor, dies
1941 Josiah Charles Stamp 1st baron/statisician, dies
1948 Babe Ruth baseball legend, dies
1949 Sutan Ibrahim gelor Datuk Tan Malaka Indon communist, executed at 54
1951 Emile Erens Dutch hagiographer (Pastor of Ars), dies at 85
1955 Abdullah Seif el-Islam brother of Yemenite king Ahmed, beheaded
1959 Charles Halton dies at 83
1968 Fay Bainter actress (Jezebel, Our Town, State Fair), dies at 76
1968 Edna Ferber author (American Beauty), dies at 78
1970 Péter Veres Hungarian minister of defense/writer, dies at 73
1970 Richard Josef Neutra Austria/US architect (Who Bought America?), dies at 78
1971 Mihály Váci Hungarian poet/politician, dies at 46
1972 Yasunari Kawabata Japanese author (Nobel 1968), dies at 72
1973 István Kertész Hung/German conductor (London Symphony), dies at 43
1978 Lucius D Clay General/Governor US zone West Germany (airlift), dies at 80
1980 Alf Sjöberg director (Fadern, Oen, Domaren), dies in a car crash at 76
1981 Eric Hollies cricketer (13 Tests for England, 44 wickets), dies
1985 Scott Brady [Gerald Tierney] actor (Shotgun Slade), dies at 60
1987 Anthony Tudor dancer/choreographer (American Ballet Theater) dies at 78
1988 Abu Jihad [Khalil al-Wazzir] PLO-leader, murdered
1988 Clifford Roach cricketer (16 Tests early in West Indies cricket history), dies
1988 Jacques de Kadt Dutch 2nd chamber member (Socialist-Democrat), dies at 90
1988 Khalil al-Wazir PLO military commander, assassinated by Israeli commandos
1988 Warde Donovan dies at 72
1989 Tawfieq Yusuf Awwaad Lebanese writer, dies
1991 David Lean director (2 Academy Awards-Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia), dies of pneumonia at 83
1992 Andy Russell drummer/vocalist (Your Hit Parade), dies of stroke at 72
1992 Frank Killmond dies at 58
1992 Neville Brand actor (Stalag 17), dies of emphysema at 71
1993 John P W Meefout sculptor (Laying wife), dies at 77
1994 John McLiam dies of Parkinson's disease at 75
1994 Ralph Waldo Ellison US writer (Invisible Man), dies at 80
1994 Ron Vawter US actor (Roy Cohn, Silence of the Lambs), dies at 45
1994 Samuel Selvon author, dies at 70
1995 Arthur English comedian, dies at 75
1995 Cheyenne Brando daughter of Marlon, commits suicide
1995 Cy[ril Raker] Endfield film director (Universal Soldier), dies at 80
1995 Stewart Myles MacPherson broadcaster, dies at 86
1996 Lucille Bremer dancer/actress (Ziegfeld Follies), dies at 73
1996 Madeleine Bourdouxhe writer, dies at 89
1996 Raymond Earl Hill saxophonist, dies at 62
1996 Stavros Spyros Niarchos Greek shipowner, dies at 86
1997 Emilio Azcarraga Milmo media tycoon, dies at 66
1997 Mae Boren Axton song writer (Heartbreak Hotel), dies at 82
1997 Michael Stroka actor (Aristede-Dark Shadows), dies of cancer at 57

1738 General Sir Henry Clinton is born

On this day in 1738, Henry Clinton, the future commander in chief of British forces charged with suppressing the rebellion in North America, is born in Newfoundland, Canada.

Henry Clinton’s father, George, was the royal governor of Newfoundland at the time of his birth. He was made the royal governor of New York in 1743, and Henry spent eight years in that colony before moving to England and taking a military commission in the Coldstream Guards in 1751. By 1758, Henry Clinton had earned the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Grenadier Guards. He continued to distinguish himself as a soldier during the Seven Years’ War and, in 1772, achieved two significant feats for a man born in the colonies--the rank of major general in the British army and a seat in Parliament.

Clinton’s part in the War of American Independence began auspiciously. He arrived with Major General William Howe and, after the draw at Bunker Hill, served in the successful capture of New York City and the Battle of Long Island, which earned him the rank of lieutenant general and membership in the Most Honourable Order of Bath as a KCB, or Knight Commander of the British Empire, which conferred to him the title of “Sir.”

After Howe performed poorly at Saratoga and was demoted, Clinton was promoted to commander in chief of Britain’s North American forces in 1778. Clinton oversaw the concentration of British troops in his former home state of New York and went on to successfully capture Charleston, South Carolina, in 1779. However, the persistent ineptitude of General Cornwallis, his second in command, caused him consternation and, ultimately, defeat at Yorktown in 1781.

As commander in chief, Clinton was blamed for the loss of the 13 colonies and was replaced by Sir Guy Carleton after the defeat at Yorktown. Afterward, Clinton attempted to rebuild his reputation by publishing his own account of the war. By the time of his death in 1795, he had managed to gain a seat in parliament, the title of general and an appointment as the governor of Gibraltar.
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1863 Passage of Vicksburg

Admiral David Dixon Porter leads 12 ships past the heavy barrage of Confederate artillery at Vicksburg, Mississippi. He lost only one ship, and the operation speeded General Ulysses S. Grant's movement against Vicksburg.

Grant had been trying to capture Vicksburg for six months. A first attempt failed when General William T. Sherman's troops were unsuccessful in attacking Vicksburg from the north. Grant now planned to move his army down the opposite bank of the river, cross back to Mississippi, and approach the city from the east. The soggy spring conditions slowed his advance to a crawl as his force had to build bridges over the bayous on the Louisiana side of the river. To speed the operation, Grant called on Porter to take the ships loaded with men and supplies and run past the powerful Vicksburg batteries.

The flotilla quietly moved down the river on the dark night of April 16. The exhausts on the steamboats were vented into the paddle wheel housing to muffle the noise. The boats were positioned off center so that if a ship were hit, the following craft could pass safely. The ships were stacked with cotton bails act as a soft armor in the event of a direct hit. Confederate pickets spotted the flotilla and sent word to the batteries, and the bombardment began. The commanding Confederate, General John Pemberton, was attending a ball and was quickly summoned to the scene. Some Rebel soldiers even rowed across the Mississippi River to set fire to the trees on the western bank and provide backlighting for their gunners on the eastern shore.

It took over two hours for the ships and attached barges to pass. The Union lost only one ship and two barges, and Grant's plan proceeded. Within six weeks, he had locked up Vicksburg from the east and the siege began. Vicksburg would surrender on July 4, 1863
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1917 Lenin returns to Russia from exile

On April 16, 1917, Vladimir Lenin, leader of the revolutionary Bolshevik Party, returns to Petrograd after a decade of exile to take the reins of the Russian Revolution.

Born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in 1870, Lenin was drawn to the revolutionary cause after his brother was executed in 1887 for plotting to assassinate Czar Alexander II. He studied law and took up practice in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), where he moved in revolutionary Marxist circles. In 1895, he helped organize Marxist groups in the capital into the "Union for the Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class," which attempted to enlist workers to the Marxist cause. In December 1895, Lenin and the other leaders of the Union were arrested. Lenin was jailed for a year and then exiled to Siberia for a term of three years.

After his exile ended in 1900, Lenin went to Western Europe, where he continued his revolutionary activity. It was during this time that he adopted the pseudonym Lenin. In 1902, he published a pamphlet entitled What Is to Be Done?, which argued that only a disciplined party of professional revolutionaries could bring socialism to Russia. In 1903, he met with other Russian Marxists in London and established the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party (RSDWP). However, from the start, there was a split between Lenin's Bolsheviks (Majoritarians), who advocated militarism, and the Mensheviks (Minoritarians), who advocated a democratic movement toward socialism. These two groups increasingly opposed each other within the framework of the RSDWP, and Lenin made the split official at a 1912 conference of the Bolshevik Party.

After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1905, Lenin returned to Russia. The revolution, which consisted mainly of strikes throughout the Russian empire, came to an end when Nicholas II promised reforms, including the adoption of a Russian constitution and the establishment of an elected legislature. However, once order was restored, the czar nullified most of these reforms, and in 1907 Lenin was again forced into exile.

Lenin opposed World War I, which began in 1914, as an imperialistic conflict and called on proletariat soldiers to turn their guns on the capitalist leaders who sent them down into the murderous trenches. For Russia, World War I was an unprecedented disaster: Russian casualties were greater than those sustained by any nation in any previous war. Meanwhile, the economy was hopelessly disrupted by the costly war effort, and in March 1917, riots and strikes broke out in Petrograd over the scarcity of food. Demoralized army troops joined the strikers, and on March 15, 1917, Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, ending centuries of czarist rule. In the aftermath of the February Revolution (known as such because of Russia's use of the Julian calendar), power was shared between the ineffectual provisional government, led by Minister of War Alexander Kerensky, and the soviets, or "councils," of soldiers' and workers' committees.

After the outbreak of the February Revolution, German authorities allowed Lenin and his lieutenants to cross Germany en route from Switzerland to Sweden in a sealed railway car. Berlin hoped, correctly, that the return of the anti-war socialists to Russia would undermine the Russian war effort, which was continuing under the provisional government. Lenin called for the overthrow of the provisional government by the soviets; he was subsequently condemned as a "German agent" by the government's leaders. In July, he was forced to flee to Finland, but his call for "peace, land, and bread" met with increasing popular support, and the Bolsheviks won a majority in the Petrograd soviet. In October, Lenin secretly returned to Petrograd, and on November 7, the Bolshevik-led Red Guards deposed the Provisional Government and proclaimed soviet rule.

Lenin became the virtual dictator of the world's first Marxist state. His government made peace with Germany, nationalized industry and distributed land but, beginning in 1918, had to fight a devastating civil war against czarist forces. In 1920, the czarists were defeated, and in 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established. Upon Lenin's death in early 1924, his body was embalmed and placed in a mausoleum near the Moscow Kremlin. Petrograd was renamed Leningrad in his honor. After a struggle of succession, fellow revolutionary Joseph Stalin succeeded Lenin as leader of the Soviet Union.
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1897 Frederick William Winterbotham, one of Britain's top code breakers, is born

Winterbotham, a British secret service official who would play a decisive role in the World War II Ultra code-breaking project, is born on this day in 1897.

A graduate of Oxford and trained in law, Winterbotham had been a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps in World War II before joining the British secret service (MI-6) in 1929 as chief of air intelligence. In 1938, Winterbotham and MI-6 colleagues learned of a German encrypting device called Enigma. By 1940, British experts broke Enigma's code, enabling MI-6 to intercept top secret and highly sensitive messages (even from Hitler himself) transmitted to and between German armed forces. Winterbotham was given the responsibility of distributing the German data, code-named Ultra, to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, among others. This data proved invaluable to the Allies as a strategic tool in anticipating and undermining Axis military operations, from the Battle of Britain to Normandy.

Winterbotham was made a Commander of the British Empire in 1943 and was awarded the Legion of Merit in 1945. He died in Blandford, Dorset, in 1990.
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1968 Johnson arrives in Honolulu

At a series of meetings in Honolulu, President Johnson discusses recent Allied and enemy troop deployments with U.S. military leaders. He also conferred with South Korean President Park Chung Hee to reaffirm U.S. military commitments to Seoul and assure Park that his country's interests would not be compromised by any Vietnamese peace agreement.
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1972 United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong

In an effort to help blunt the ongoing North Vietnamese Nguyen Hue Offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong after a four-year lull.

In the first use of B-52s against both Hanoi and Haiphong, and the first attacks against both cities since November 1968, 18 B-52s and about 100 U.S. Navy and Air Force fighter-bombers struck supply dumps near Haiphong's harbor. Sixty fighter-bombers hit petroleum storage facilities near Hanoi, with another wave of planes striking later in the afternoon. White House spokesmen announced that the United States would bomb military targets anywhere in Vietnam in order to help the South Vietnamese defend against the communist onslaught.

These actions were part of the U.S. response to the North Vietnamese offensive, which had begun on March 30. The North Vietnamese had launched a massive invasion designed to strike the knockout blow that would win the war for the communists. The attack was called the Nguyen Hue Offensive by the North Vietnamese, but was also more commonly known to Americans as the "Easter Offensive." The attacking force of North Vietnamese included 14 infantry divisions and 26 separate regiments, with more than 120,000 troops and approximately 1,200 tanks and other armored vehicles. The main North Vietnamese objectives, in addition to Quang Tri in the north, were Kontum in the Central Highlands, and An Loc farther to the south. The fighting, which continued into the fall, was some of the most desperate of the war as the South Vietnamese fought for their very survival. They prevailed against the invaders with the help of U.S. advisors and massive American airpower.