On This Day in History.......

0753 -BC- Traditional date of the foundation of Rome
0953 Otto I the Great gives Utrecht fishing rights
1420 Treaty of Saint Maartens Dike
1453 Turkish fleet sinks ships Golden Receiver in Constantinople
1477 Maximilian of Habsburg marries Maria of Bourgondië at proxy
1521 Battle at Villalar Emperor Charles I beats Communards
1526 Battle at Panipat Mogol Emperor Babur beats sultan Ibrahim Lodi
1572 France & England sign anti-Spanish military covenant
1600 1st date in James Clavell's novel Shogun (OS)
1649 Maryland Toleration Act passed, allowing all freedom of worship
1654 England & Sweden sign trade agreement
1689 William III & Mary Stuart proclaimed king & queen of England
1739 Spain & Naples-Austria sign peace accord
1785 Russian tsarina Catharina II ends noble privileges
1789 John Adams sworn in as 1st US Vice President (9 days before Washington)
1794 NYC formally declares coast of Ellis Island publically owned, so they can build forts to protect NYC from British
1818 Franz Grillparzer's "Sappho", premieres in Vienna
1828 Noah Webster publishes 1st American dictionary
1836 Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas wins independence from México
1856 1st railroad bridge across Mississippi River, Rock Island IL-Davenport IA
1857 Alexander Douglas patents the bustle
1862 Congress establishes US Mint in Denver CO
1862 Ellen Price Wood's "East Lynne, premieres in Boston
1863 Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh; Bahá'í Feast of Ridván (Jalâl 13, 20)
1865 Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves Washington
1878 The ship Azor leaves Charleston with 206 blacks for Liberia
1878 New York installs 1st firehouse pole
1878 Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Inscrutabili
1884 Potters Field reopened as Madison Park
1892 1st buffalo born in Golden Gate Park
1892 Black Longshoremen strike for higher wages in St Louis Mo
1894 George Bernard Shaw's "Arms & the Man", premieres in London
1898 Phillies' pitcher Bill Duggleby hits a grand slam on 1st at bat
1898 Spanish-American War begins
1904 Ty Cobb makes his pro debut for Augusta (South Atlantic League)
1908 Frederick A Cook claims to reach North Pole (He didn't)
1910 Cleveland Naps play 1st game at League Park, lose to Detroit Tigers 5-0
1913 German passenger ship Imperator runs aground
1913 Gideon Sundback of Sweden patents the zipper
1914 US marines occupy Vera Cruz México, stay 6 months
1920 John Galsworthy's "Skin Game", premieres in London
1921 Ottawa Senators beat Vancouver Millionaires 3 games to 2 for Stanley Cup
1925 Chuvash Autonomous Region in RSFSR becomes Chuvash ASSR
1925 No baseball games played in National League due to Charles Ebbets' funeral
1925 Noël Coward's "Fallen Angels", premieres in London
1930 Fire (set as part of an escape attempt) at Ohio State Penitentiary kills 320
1930 Vladimir Mayakovsky's "Moskva Golid", premieres in Moscow
1934 Moe Berg, Senators catcher, plays American League record 117th cons errorless game
1935 King Boris of Bulgaria forbids all political parties
1940 1st $64 Question, "Take It or Leave It", on CBS Radio
1940 Netherlands beats Belgium 4-2 in soccer
1941 Greece surrenders to Nazi-Germany
1944 NFL Chicago Cardinals & Pittsburgh Steelers merge (dissolves on Dec 3)
1945 Allied troops occupy German nuclear laboratory
1945 Ivor Nivello's "Perchance to Dream", premieres in London
1945 Russian army arrives at outskirts of Berlin
1945 US 7th Army occupies Neurenberg
1946 SED, Socialistic Einheitspartei Germany forms in East Germany
1948 1st Polaroid camera is sold in US
1948 2nd NBA Championship Baltimore Bullets beat Philadelphia Warriors, 4 games to 2
1951 5th NBA Championship Rochester Royals beat New York Knicks, 4 games to 3
1951 Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs beat Montréal Canadiens, 4 games to 1
1952 BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) begins 1st passenger service with jets (London-Rome route)
1954 Gregori Malenkov becomes premier of USSR
1954 USAF flies French battalion to Vietnam
1955 Brooklyn Dodgers win 10th straight game to begin a season (this was a record at the time)
1955 Jerome Lawrence & Robert E Lee's "Inherit the Wind", premieres in NYC
1955 Minas Gerais Argentina tunnel caves in; 30 die
1956 Elvis Presley's 1st hit record, "Heartbreak Hotel", becomes #1
1957 Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open
1957 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Fidei Donum
1959 Alf Dean (using a rod and reel) hooks a 2,664lb, 16' 10" great white shark (largest fish ever caught on a rod)
1960 Brasilia becomes the capital of Brazil
1961 French army revolts in Algeria
1961 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to an altitude of 32,000 meters
1961 Dirk U Stikker chosen as Secretary-General of NATO
1962 Century 21 Exposition opens in Seattle WA
1963 Beatles meet Rolling Stones for 1st time
1963 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Sunshine Women's Golf Open
1963 Dr Michael Ellis De Bakey performs 1st successful heart implant
1964 Pirates & Cubs combine for 9 homeruns, Pirates win 8-5
1965 New York World's Fair reopens for 2nd & final season
1966 Emperor Haile Selassie (Ethiopia) visits Kingston Jamaica
1967 Los Angeles Dodgers 1st rain out in Los Angeles (after 737 consecutive games)
1967 Svetlana Alliluyeva (Josef Stalin's daughter) defects in NYC
1967 EO, Evangelical Broadcasting, begins in Netherlands
1967 Military coup in Greece, Konstantinos Kollias becomes premier
1968 22nd Tony Awards Rosencranz & Guilderstern & Hallelujah Baby! win
1968 Carol Mann wins LPGA Lady Carling Golf Open
1969 Record 1,152 starters compete in Boston Marathon
1969 73rd Boston Marathon won by Yoshiaki Unetani of Japan in 2:13:49
1971 Original Codex Reguis (with Edda-liederen) returns to Iceland
1972 John Young & Charles Duke explore Moon (Apollo 16)
1972 Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 4 (Copernicus) launched
1974 28th Tony Awards River Niger & Raisin win
1974 3rd Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Jo Ann Prentice
1975 Last South Vietnam President Nguyen Van Thieu resigns after 10 years
1975 4th Boston Women's Marathon won by Liane Winter of West Germany in 2:42:24
1975 79th Boston Marathon won by Bill Rodgers of Massachusetts in 2:09:55
1976 Swine Flu vaccine, for non-epidemic, enters testing
1976 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1977 Billy Martin pulls Yankee line-up out of a hat, beats Blue Jays 8-6
1977 Charles Strouse & Martin Charnins musical "Annie" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 2377 performances
1977 Zia ur-Rahman appointed President of Bangladesh
1979 "Carmelina" closes at St James Theater NYC after 17 performances
1980 84th Boston Marathon won by Bill Rodgers of Massachusetts in 2:12:11
1980 9th Boston Women's Marathon won by Jacqueline Gareau of Canada in 2:34:28 Rosie Ruiz disqualified as women's champion; she hadn't run entire course
1980 Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWWW Detroit MI
1981 US furnish $1 billion in arms to Saudi-Arabia
1982 Atlanta Braves win their 13th straight game
1982 Dutch Queen Beatrice addresses US Congress
1983 £1 coin introduced in United Kingdom
1984 "Nightline" reverts back from 1 hour to ½ hour
1984 After 37 weeks, "Thriller" is knocked off as top album by "Footloose"
1984 Franz Weber of Austria skis downhill at a record 209.8 kph
1984 Montréal Expo David Palmer no-hits St Louis Cardinals, 4-0 in a perfect 5 inning game
1984 Centers for Disease Control says virus discovered in France causes AIDS
1985 Flyers 5-Islanders 2-Patrick Division Finals-Flyers hold 2-0 lead
1985 Ingrid Kristiansen wins the London Marathon in a record 2:21:6
1985 Bomb attack in NATO/AEG-Telefunken building in Brussels
1985 Patty Sheehan wins LPGA J&B Scotch Pro-Am Golf Tournament
1986 Bob Hering sets Formula One power boat record (165.338 mph, Arizona)
1986 Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone's vault on TV & finds nothing
1986 15th Boston Women's Marathon won by I Kristiansen of Norway in 2:24:55
1986 90th Boston Marathon won by Rob de Castella of Australia in 2:07:51
1987 Dow Jones Average soars 664.7; 2nd biggest one-day gain in history
1987 Milwaukee Brewers lose, ending American League season-opening winning streak at 13 games
1987 Richard Hadlee makes highest Test Cricket score of 151 (v Sri Lanka)
1987 Tamil bomb attack in Colombo Sri Lanka, 115 killed
1988 Barbra Streisand records "You'll Never Know"
1988 1st four-day games in County Cricket Championship commence
1989 Thousands of Chinese crowd into Beijing's Tiananmen Square cheering students demanding greater political freedom
1990 "Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue" shown on all 4 TV networks
1990 National League umpire is arrested for stealing baseball cards
1990 Cincinnati Reds win running their record to 9-0, best start in club history
1991 52nd PGA Seniors Golf Championship Jack Nicklaus wins
1991 Greatest extra-inning comeback, Pittsburgh scores 6 in bottom of 11th erasing 5 run Chicago Cub lead, Pirates also trailed 7-2 in bottom of 9th
1991 Jakov Tolstikov wins 4th World Cup marathon (2:09:17)
1991 Rosa Mota wins 4th World Cup female marathon (2:26:14)
1992 "High Rollers" opens at Helen Hayes theater on Broadway
1992 Mobil Oil tug with 12,000 gallons of oil run aground in Arthur Kill
1993 "Wilder, Wilder, Wilder" opens at Circle in Square NYC for 30 performances
1993 Brazil votes against a monarchy
1993 Rolling Stone Bill Wyman weds Suzanne Accosta on French Riveria
1994 "Picnic" opens at Criterion Theater NYC for 45 performances
1994 Eddie Murray sets record for switch hit homeruns in a games (11 times)
1994 Serbian army bombs distress clinic in Goradze Bosnia, 28 killed
1995 Boston Celtics final game at Boston Gardens, New York Knicks win 98-92
1995 FBI arrests Timothy McVeigh & charge him with Oklahoma City bombing
1996 57th PGA Seniors Golf Championship Hale Irwin
1996 Barb Mucha wins LPGA Chick-fil-A Charity Golf Championship
1996 Chicago Bulls win NBA record 72 games (72-8)
1996 Edward Albee's "A Delicate Balance", opens at Plymouth Theater NYC
1996 Matabeleland beat Mashonaland Country Dist to win Logan Cup
1996 Wayne James scores 99 & 99 & ct 11 stp 2 in Logan Cup Final
1997 101st Boston Marathon won by Lameck Aguta of Kenya in 2:10:34
1997 26th Boston Women's Marathon won by Fatuma Roba of Ethopia in 2:26:23
1997 Ashes of Timothy Leary & Gene Roddenberry launched into orbit
====================================================

Missing In Action........

1966 AUSTIN ELLIS E. VERMONTVILLE MI POSS DEAD
1966 KELLER JACK E. CHICAGO IL
1967 HAMILTON ROGER DALE BALTIMORE MD
1967 HASENBACH PAUL A. FREEBURG MO DISAPEARED WHILE ON SAMPAN
1967 MANGINO THOMAS A. ALLIANCE OH DISAPEARED WHILE ON SAMPAN
1967 NIDDS DANIEL R. WEST ISLIP NY DISAPPEARED WHILE ON SAMPAN
1967 WINTERS DAVID M. DELPHIA CA DISAPEARED WHILE ON SAMPAN
1968 CREAMER JAMES E. NORTH BRANFORD CT
1968 JOHNSON FRANKIE B. JR. FOUNTAIN INN SC
1968 JAMERSON LARRY C. ROSMAN NC
1968 LINK ROBERT C. WASHINGTON DC
1968 MAC KEDANZ LYLE E. HUTCHINSON MN
1968 OLSEN FLOYD W. WHEATON IL
1968 SPINDLER JOHN GATES ST LOUIS MO
1970 WHEELER EUGENE L. ASHVILLE OH "VOICE CONTACT, IN SHOOTOUT"
1978 MAC NAMARA LEN PHNOM PHENH JAIL TIL 11/78
1978 CLARK JAMES W. PHNOM PHENH JAIL TIL 11/78

Births which occurred on April 21:

1488 Ulrich von Hutten German poet/humanist/patriot
1546 Arcangelo Crivelli composer
1619 John A van Riebeeck colonial director/founder (Cape Colony)
1672 Johann Philipp Kafer composer
1713 Louis Duke de Noailles marshal of France
1729 Catharina II the Great, writer/emperess of Russia (1762-96)
1730 Antonin Kammel composer
1749 Johann Michael Malzat composer
1774 Jean-Baptiste Biot French physicist/astronomer (balloonist)
1775 Alexander Anderson US, engraver/illustrator (Shakespeare)
1779 William Knyvett composer
1782 Friedrich W A Fröbel Germany, educator (founded kindergarten)
1795 Vincenzo Pallotti Italian saint
1803 Levin Minn Powell Commander (Union Navy), died in 1885
1806 Peter van Schendel Dutch painter
1809 Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter Secretary of State (Confederacy)
1814 Beni Egressy composer
1816 Charlotte Brontë Tornton England, novelist (Jane Eyre)
1816 Louis Trezevant Wigfall Confederate Army, died in 1874
1824 Anselmo Clave composer
1828 Hippolyte Taine French philosopher/historian (Voyage in Italy)
1834 William Rufus Terrill Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
1837 Fredrik Bajer Denmark, politican/feminist/pacifist (Nobel 1908)
1838 John Muir US, naturalist (discovered glaciers in High Sierras)
1838 Nat Thompson cricketer (1st batsman dismissed in a Test match)
1840 Franz Xaver Haberl German priest/musicologist (Magister choralis)
1849 Oskar Hertwig Germany, embryologist, discovered fertilization
1853 Charles-Theodore Malherbe composer
1854 Eusapia Palladino Napolitanse with parergische phenomenons
1854 Wladyslaw Rzepko composer
1864 Max Weber German sociologist/economist/historian (Ancient Judaism)
1867 Benjamin A Jesurun Antillian literary
1871 Leo Blech composer
1871 Vojtech Rihovsky composer
1872 G W Bitzer [Johann Gottlob Wilhelm Bitzer] Roxbury MA
1878 Albert Weisgerber German painter/graphic artist
1881 Jules-Marie Canneel Flemish painter/caricaturist (Rocks of Oran)
1886 Charlie Naughton Glasgow Scotland, actor (Frozen Limits)
1887 Lillian Walker Brooklyn NY, entertainer
1892 ? 1st buffalo born in Golden Gate Park
1892 Jaroslav Kvapil composer
1896 Attila Hörbiger Austrian actor (Die Grosse Liebe, Die Julika)
1896 Henry M de Montherlant French stage author (La Reine Morte)
1898 Steve Owen NFL tackle, coach (New York Giants)
1899 Randall Thompson New York NY, composer (Trip to Nahant)
1899 Clement D'Hooghe composer
19-- Christopher [Chip] Mayer New York NY, actor (Vance-Dukes of Hazzard, Glitter)
1901 Julian Bautista composer
1902 Bernard J H "Ben" Stroman recensent/writer (Jomtof & Blue Beard)
1903 Hans Hedtoft premier Denmark (1947..55)
1904 Jean Hélion artist/author (They Shall Not Have Me)
1904 Gijsbert van Hall banker/mayor of Amsterdam (1957-67)
1905 Edmund G "Pat" Brown (Governor-Democrat-CA)
1906 Tom Burns editor
1907 Beatrice Kay New York NY, singer/actress (Sister Sue-Calvin & the Colonel)
1907 Antoni Szalowski composer
1908 Louis Hostin France, Light Heavyweight (Olympics-gold-1932, 36)
1909 Rollo May US, psychologist (Love & Will)
1911 Leonard Warren New York NY, baritone (Metropolitan Opera 1939-60) died on stage
1912 Feike P Asma Dutch organist
1912 Marcel Camus French director, Orfeu negro)
1912 Nell [Petronella GS] Koppen actress, Kniertje-Op Hoop van Zegen)
1913 Choh Hao Li biochemist professor (isolated growth hormones)
1913 Norman Parkinson England, fashion photographer (Harper's Bazaar)
1913 Kai-Uwe von Hassel German politician
1915 Anthony Quinn Chihuahua México, actor (Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia)
1915 Andor Kovach composer
1915 Frick [W Groebli] Swiss clown (Frick & Frack)
1916 Sidney Clute Brooklyn NY, actor (Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey)
1917 Emanuel Vardi Jerusalem Israel, violist (San Diego Symphony 1978-82)
1919 Franc [Franklin E] Essed Suriname agricultural eng, Oper Grasshopper)
1919 John Goddard cricketer, West Indian all-rounder 1948-57)
1920 Bruno Maderna Venice Italy, conductor/composer (Hyperion)
1920 Christopher Dark New York NY, actor, (Suddenly, Tenderfoot)
1921 Jack Fletcher Forrest Hills NY, actor (Grady, Bob Crane Show)
1922 Allan Watkins cricketer, England batsman late 40s early 50s)
1923 Andrea Domburg Dutch actress, (Theo d'Or Prize, Keetje Tippel)
1924 Ira Louvin Rainsville AL, country singer (Louvin Brothers)
1924 Daniel Melnick New York NY, producer, Get Smart)
1926 Elizabeth [Alexandra Mary Windsor II] queen of England (1952- )
1927 Robert Brustein New York NY, dean (Yale School of Drama)
1930 Silvana Mangano Rome Italy, actress (Death in Venice, Barabbas)
1930 Don Tyson founder, Tyson Foods)
1930 Margaret Rose London England, Princess of York [or Aug 21]
1932 Elaine May Philadelphia PA, comedienne/writer/actress (New Leaf)
1932 Angela Mortimer English tennis player, Wimbledon)
1933 Easley Blackwood Indianapolis IN, composer (Un Voyage á Cythere)
1934 Martin Horton cricketer, England off-spin all rounder, 2 Tests 1959)
1935 Charles Grodin Pittsburgh PA, actor (Beethoven, Woman in Red, Lonely Guy, Heartbreak Kid)
1935 Robin Dixon England, 2 man bobsled (Olympics-gold-1960)
1936 Bob Cleary US, ice hockey player (Olympics-gold-1960)
1936 Anthony Joseph Gnazzo composer
1937 Charles Lee Herron Kentucky, FBI most wanted fugitive (Jan 1 1986)
1939 Ernie Maresca singer/songwriter (Runaround Sue, Wanderer)
1939 John McCabe composer
1940 Souleymane Cisse director (Waati, Yeelen, Finye, Baara)
1942 Bobby McClure US gospel singer (Don't Mess Up a Good Thing)
1946 S Venkataraghavan cricket (Indian off-spinner, Test ump, ICC referee)
1947 Iggy Pop [James Newell Osterberg] Ypsilanti MI, rocker (Zombie Birdhouse)
1947 John Weider bassist (Family-Family Entertainment)
1947 Alan Warner rocker (Foundations)
1948 Claire Denis Paris France, actress (Boom Boom, Chocolat)
1948 Gary A Condit (Representative-Democrat-CA)
1948 Lord Egremont English large landowner/multi-millionaire
1948 Paul Davis Meridian MI, country/rock vocalist (I Go Crazy)
1949 Patti LuPone Northport NY, stage/screen actress/singer (Evita, Life Goes On)
1951 Tony Danza Brooklyn, (Tony Banta-Taxi, Tony Micelli-Who's the Boss)
1951 Aleksandr Ivanovich Laveykin Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-2)
1951 Nicoel Barclay rocker
1951 Paul Carrack Sheffield England, rock vocalist (Mike + the Mechanics-All I Need Is A Miracle, Squeeze/Ace-How Long)
1953 Edward Ray Fiori Lynwood CA, PGA golfer (1979 Southern Open)
1954 Dale Eggeling Statesboro GA, LPGA golfer (1995 Oldsmobile Classic)
1956 Rick DeMont US, 400 meter swimmer, drug disqualification (1972 Olympics)
1957 Jesse Orosco Santa Barbara CA, baseball relief pitcher (New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers)
1958 Andie [Rosalie Anderson] MacDowell Gaffney SC, actress (Groundhog Day, Multiplicity, Greystoke)
1958 Kyle Stevens LPGA golfer
1959 Robert Smith Sussex England, rock guitarist/vocalist (Cure-Just Like Heaven )
1960 Julius Korir Kenya, 3K steeplechaser (Olympics-gold-1984)
1962 Sergei Viktorovich Zalyotin Russia, Major/cosmonaut
1963 John Cameron Mitchell El Paso TX, actor (Misplaced, Band of the Hand)
1963 Ken Caminiti Hanford CA, infielder (San Diego Padres)
1964 Louise Mullard Kurri Kurri New South Wales, golfer (1990 T3 Coca Cola Classic)
1965 Karen Foster Lufkin TX, playmate (October 1989)
1965 Ed Belfour Carman, NHL goalie (Chicago Blackhawks)
1965 Gary Grant NBA guard (New York Knicks)
1966 Judy Diduck ice hockey defenseman (Canada, Olympics-98)
1968 Peter van Foxes soccer player (Ajax)
1969 Conrad Clarks NFL center (Indianapolis Colts)
1969 Dwight Hollier NFL linebacker (Miami Dolphins)
1970 Israel Stanley NFL/WLAF defensive end (New Orleans Saints, Rhein Fire)
1970 Stewart Malgunas Prince George, NHL defenseman (Washington Capitals)
1971 Samantha Druce youngest woman to swim the English Channel
1971 Jennifer Reed Miss Michigan-USA (1997)
1971 Tom Cavallo NFL/WLAF linebacker (Frankfurt Galaxy, San Francisco 49ers)
1971 Tony Mcgee NFL tight end (Cincinnati Bengals)
1972 David Williams Bedford PA, outfielder (San Francisco Giants)
1972 Lori Flick Boston MA, Miss Massachusetts-America (1997)
1972 Tia Jackson WNBA forward (Phoenix Mercury)
1974 Brice Hunter wide receiver (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1975 Angela Michelle Hughes Anderson SC, Miss South Carolina-America (1997)
1975 Danyon Joseph Loader Dunedin New Zealand, 200 meter/400 meter swimmer (Olympics-2 gold-96)
1977 Karen Ann Peterson Miss Aruba-Universe (1997)
1978 Avi Phillips Ontario Canada, actor (Maniac Mansion)
1978 Aimee Delatte Miss Arkansas Teen-USA (1996)
1978 Melissa Coish Miss New Hampshire Teen-USA (1996)
1984 Ashley Peldon Staten Island NY, actress (Marah Lewis-Guilding Light, Deceived)
===================================================

Deaths which occurred on April 21:

1073 Alexander II [Anselmo da Baggio] Pope (1061-73), dies
1109 Anselmus philosopher/archbishop of Canterbury, dies
1142 Pierre Abélard French philosopher (Sic et Non, Héloïse), dies at 62
1509 Henry VII 1st Tudor king of England (1485-1509), dies at 52
1552 Peter Apianus [Bennewitz/Bienewitz] German astronomer, dies at 50
1574 Cosimo de Medici Italian duke of Toscane, dies at about 54
1652 Pietro Della Valle composer, dies at 66
1696 Andres de Sola composer, dies at 61
1699 Jean Racine French playwright (Phèdre), dies at 59
1730 Jan Palfijn Flemish physician/inventor (forceps), dies at 79
1736 Frans Eugenius duke/prince of Savoye, dies at 72
1780 Ferdinand Zellbell composer, dies at 60
1871 Elisabeth Grube writer, dies
1878 Temistocle Solera composer, dies at 62
1898 Louis Theodore Gouvy composer, dies at 78
1899 Heinrich Kiepert German cartographer/geographer, dies at 80
1900 Heinrich Vogl composer, dies at 55
1910 Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] author(Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn), dies in Redding CT at 74
1918 "Red Baron" [Manfred von Richtofen] shot down in WWI at 25
1924 Eleanora Duse Italian actress (La Gioconda, La Locandiera), dies at 64
1930 Christine [Elizabeth C] Poolman Dutch actress (Mother), dies at 79
1930 Robert S Bridges poet laureate (Testament of beauty), dies at 85
1938 Muhammad Iqbal Brt E Indies lawyer/Pakistan national hero, dies at 65
1939 Herman Finck composer, dies at 66
1945 John Poston British Major/Montgomery's ADC, dies in battle at 25
1946 John M Keynes English economist (How to pay for the war?), dies at 62
1946 Robert Graham cricketer (3 wickets for South Africa in 2 Tests 1898-99), dies
1948 Carlos Lopez Buchardo composer, dies at 66
1952 [Richard] Stafford Cripps English minister of Plane-manufacturing, dies at 62
1952 Leslie Banks actor (Henry V, 21 Days, Eye Witness), dies at 61
1961 James Melton opera tenor (Ford Festival), dies at 57
1962 Frederick Handley Page designer of 1st big airplane (40 seats), dies
1965 Edward V Appleton English physicist (Nobel Prize 1947), dies at 72
1967 André L Danjon French astronomer, dies at 77
1968 Toby Halicki car-crash film producer 48, killed shooting stunt
1968 Norman Demuth composer, dies at 69
1971 Edmund Lowe actor (Front Page Detective), dies at 81
1971 François "Doc" Duvalier dictator of Haiti, dies at 64
1973 Ursula Jeans [McMinn] actress (Cavalcade, Over the Moon), dies at 66
1975 Jack Allan Westrup composer, dies at 70
1977 Gummo [Milton] Marx US comic (Marx Brothers), dies at 84
1978 Sandy Denny country singer, dies at 37
1981 Harry Lee cricketer (scored 18 & 1 in only Test for England), dies
1982 Joe Sawyer actor (Biff O'Hara-Adventures of Rin Tin Tin), dies at 80
1983 Walter Slezak actor (Bedtime For Bonzo), commits suicide in New York at 80
1985 Rudi Gernreich US designer (miniskirt), dies at 62
1985 Tancredo Neves President-elect of Brazil, dies at 75
1987 Edith S Green (Representative-Democrat-OR), dies at 77
1989 James Kirkwood actor/writer (Devil's Holiday), dies at 64
1990 Erté art deco stylist, dies at 97
1990 Johnny Beagley winner of two 1942 World Series games, dies
1991 Richard Bolling (Representative-Democrat-MO), dies at 74
1991 Willi Boskovsky Austrian conductor (new years concert), dies at 81
1992 Robert Harris murderer, executed in California's gas chamber at 39
1992 Vladimir K Romanov Grand Duke/Russian pretender to the throne, dies at 74
1993 Hal Schumacher baseball pitcher, dies at 82
1994 Clement Merk animal trainer, dies at 93
1995 Robert Elliott Storey Wyatt cricketer, dies at 93
1995 Stafford Heginbotham toymaker/Football Club Chairman, dies at 61
1996 A H Kardar cricketer (3 Tests for India & 23 for Pakistan 1946-58), dies
1996 Dzhokhar Dudayev President of Republic of Chechenia (1991), dies at 52
1996 Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder oddsmaker/sportscaster (CBS), dies at 76
1996 Robert Hersant press baron, dies at 76
1996 Rodney Meredith Thomas architect/painter, dies at 93
1996 Zora Arkus-Duntov engineer, dies at 86
1997 Andres Rodriguez Paraguayan President (1989-93), dies
1997 Diosdado Macapagal Philippine President (1961-65), dies

1777 British attack Danbury, Connecticut

On this day in 1777, British troops under the command of General William Tryon attack the town of Danbury, Connecticut, and begin destroying everything in sight. Facing little, if any, opposition from Patriot forces, the British went on a rampage, setting fire to homes, farmhouse, storehouses and more than 1,500 tents.

The British destruction continued for nearly a week before word of it reached Continental Army leaders, including General Benedict Arnold, who was stationed in nearby New Haven. Along with General David Wooster and General Gold Silliman, Arnold led a contingent of more than 500 American troops in a surprise attack on the British forces as they began withdrawing from Danbury.

Although they prevented the complete destruction of Danbury, the outnumbered American troops were unable to stop the British retreat. The British continued marching through Ridgefield and Compo Hill, Connecticut, en route to their ships anchored at Long Island Sound.

General Wooster was hit by a musket ball during the action; he died from his injuries May 2. General Arnold survived and notoriously became a traitor to his nation, plotting to turn over West Point and with it the Hudson River to the British in 1780. General Gold Silliman also survived, but two years later was kidnapped from his home and imprisoned by a gang of local Loyalists.

Silliman’s wife, Mary Silliman, kept a detailed diary of her experiences during the American Revolution. Accounts of her life in The Way of Duty by Richard and Joy Day Buel and the subsequent documentary, Mary Silliman’s War, reveal the internecine nature of the revolution in Connecticut--General Gold Silliman’s own Loyalist neighbors, not British Redcoats or foreign mercenaries, kidnapped him. Mary Silliman’s diary also demonstrates the ways in which the war affected all colonists, including non-combatants, pregnant mothers and farm wives like Mary. On her own, Mary Silliman managed to run her family farm, flee attack from the British army and negotiate her husband’s release from his Loyalist captors. She also nursed her own midwife and neighbor, after the woman was raped by Redcoats for refusing to relinquish her house to their control.
====================================================

1863 Steight's Raid begins

Union Colonel Abel Streight begins a raid into northern Alabama and Georgia with the goal of cutting the Western and Atlantic Railroad between Chattanooga and Atlanta. The raid ended when Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest captured Streight's entire command near Rome, Georgia.

The plan called for Streight and General Greenville Dodge to move from central Tennessee into northwestern Alabama. Dodge would lead a diversionary attack on Tuscumbia, Alabama, while Streight would take nearly 2,000 troopers across northern Alabama and into Georgia. Streight outfitted his men with mules instead of horses, as he felt they were better adapted to the rugged terrain of the southern Appalachians. The expedition ran into trouble almost immediately when the mules arrived at Nashville in poor condition. A Confederate cavalry detachment swooped in and caused the mules to stampede, and it took two days to round them up.

The first part of the expedition went well. Dodge captured Tuscumbia, and Streight continued east toward Georgia. But on April 29, Streight's command was attacked by part of General Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry. Streight's men set a trap for the pursuing Rebels, and it worked well. The Confederate cavalry detachment, led by Captain William Forrest, brother of Nathan Bedford, found itself under fire from two sides. William Forrest was wounded, and the Federals continued on their mission.

But now General Forrest was on Steight's trail, and he would not let up. The Yankees were in hostile territory, and several times the Rebels received important information from local residents that allowed them to gain the upper hand. Finally, Forrest confronted the exhausted Union troops. Under a flag of truce, they discussed terms of surrender on May 3. Forrest had just 600 men, less than half of what Streight now possessed. But Forrest spread his men around the woods. As he met with Streight, couriers from nonexistent units rode up with reports. Streight took the bait, and agreed to surrender. When the Confederates finally emerged to gather the Yankee's weaponry, the Union colonel realized that he had been had by the crafty Forrest.
==================================================

1918 “Red Baron” killed in action

In the well-trafficked skies above the Somme River in France, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the notorious German flying ace known as the “Red Baron," is killed by Allied fire on April 21, 1918.

Richthofen, the son of a Prussian nobleman, switched from the German army to the Imperial Air Service in 1915. By 1916, he was terrorizing the skies over the Western Front in an Albatross biplane, downing 15 enemy planes by the end of the year, including one piloted by British flying ace Major Lanoe Hawker. In 1917, Richthofen surpassed all flying-ace records on both sides of the Western Front and began using a Fokker triplane, painted entirely red in tribute to his old cavalry regiment. Although only used during the last eight months of his career, it was this aircraft with which Richthofen was most commonly associated and that led to an enduring English nickname for the German pilot—the Red Baron.

On April 21, 1918, with 80 victories under his belt, Richthofen led his squadron of triplanes deep into Allied territory in France on a search for British observation aircraft. The flight drew the attention of an Allied squadron led by Canadian Royal Air Force pilot Captain Arthur Roy Brown. As Richthofen pursued a plane piloted by Brown’s compatriot, Wilfred R. May, the Red Baron ventured too far into enemy territory and too low to the ground. Two miles behind the Allied lines, just as Brown caught up with Richthofen and fired on him, the chase passed over an Australian machine-gun battery, whose riflemen opened fire. Richthofen was hit in the torso; though he managed to land his plane alongside the road from Corbie to Bray, near Sailley-le-Sac, he was dead by the time Australian troops reached him. Brown is often given credit for downing Richthofen from the air, though some claimed it was actually an Australian gunner on the ground who fired the fatal shot; debate continues to this day.

Manfred von Richthofen was buried by the Allies in a small military cemetery in Bertangles, France, with full military honors. He was 25 years old at the time of his death. His body was later moved to a larger cemetery at Fricourt. In 1925, it was moved again, at the behest of his brother, Karl Bolko, this time to Berlin, where he was buried at Invaliden Cemetery in a large state funeral. In a time of wooden and fabric aircraft, when 20 air victories ensured a pilot legendary status, the Red Baron downed 80 enemy aircraft and went down in history as one of the greatest heroes to emerge from World War I on either side of the conflict.
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1945 Red Army overruns German High Command as it approaches the capital

On this day in 1945, Soviet forces fighting south of Berlin, at Zossen, assault the headquarters of the German High Command. The only remaining opposing "force" to the Russian invasion of Berlin are the "battle groups" of Hitler Youth, teenagers with anti-tank guns, strategically placed in parks and suburban streets. In a battle at Eggersdorf, 70 of these Hitler teens strove to fight off a Russian assault with a mere three anti-tank guns. They were bulldozed by Russian tanks and infantry.

Also on this day in 1945, British Guardsman Edward Charlton wins the last Victoria Cross of the war for saving the lives of several men trapped in their tank during a battle in the German village of Wistedt. He is so badly wounded during his act of heroism that he dies shortly after being taken prisoner. A total of 182 Victoria Crosses--Britain's highest honor for valor--were finally awarded for World War II.
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1965 Intelligence reveals North Vietnamese units in South Vietnam

The Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency report a "most ominous" development: a regiment of the People's Army of Vietnam--the regular army of North Vietnam--division is now operating with the Viet Cong in South Vietnam.

Prior to this, it was believed that South Vietnam was dealing with an internal insurgency by the Viet Cong; the report detailed that, in fact, the Viet Cong forces were being joined in the war against the Saigon government by North Vietnamese army units. In short, the report revealed that South Vietnam was now involved in a much larger war than originally believed. The situation far outstripped the combat capability of the South Vietnamese forces. In order to stabilize the situation, President Lyndon B. Johnson would have to commit U.S. ground combat units, leading to a much greater American involvement in the war. Indeed, eventually over 500,000 U.S. troops were stationed in South Vietnam.
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1975 Thieu flees Saigon as Xuan Loc falls

Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls to the communists.

The North Vietnamese had launched a major offensive in March to capture the provincial capital of Ban Me Thuot in the Central Highlands. The South Vietnamese defenders fought very poorly and were quickly overwhelmed by the North Vietnamese attackers. Despite previous promises to provide support to the South Vietnamese if the communists violated the provisions of the cease-fire, the United States did nothing.

In an attempt to reposition his forces for a better defense, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered his forces in the Highlands to withdraw to more defensible positions to the south. What started out as a reasonably orderly withdrawal soon degenerated into a panic that spread throughout the South Vietnamese armed forces. They abandoned Pleiku and Kontum in the Highlands with very little fighting and the North Vietnamese pressed the attack from the west and north. In quick succession, Quang Tri, Hue, and Da Nang in the north fell to the communist onslaught. The North Vietnamese continued to attack south along the coast, defeating the South Vietnamese forces at each encounter.

As the North Vietnamese forces closed on the approaches to Saigon, the politburo in Hanoi issued an order to Gen. Van Tien Dung to launch the "Ho Chi Minh Campaign," the final assault on Saigon itself. Dung began to move his forces into position for the final battle.

The South Vietnamese 18th Division made a valiant final stand at Xuan Loc, 40 miles northeast of Saigon, and the South Vietnamese soldiers destroyed three of Dung's divisions. However, the South Vietnamese succumbed to the superior North Vietnamese numbers. With the fall of Xuan Loc, President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned and transferred authority to Vice-President Tran Van Huong. Thieu then fled Saigon, flying to Taiwan on April 25 and eventually on to Great Britain, where he now resides.

By April 27, the North Vietnamese had completely encircled Saigon and began to maneuver for their final assault. By the morning of April 30, the war was over. When the North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon, the South Vietnamese surrendered and the Vietnam War came to an end.