On This Day in History.....

0687 -BC- Chinese record a meteor shower in Lyra
0296 St Gaius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0536 St Agapitus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1056 Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye
1073 Pope Alexander II buried/Ildebrando chosen as Pope Gregory VII
1145 19th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1164 Raynald of Dassel names Guido di Crema as anti-pope Paschalis III
1370 Bastille begins being built in Paris France
1500 Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil & claims it for Portugal
1509 Henry VIII ascends to throne to become King of England
1521 French king François I declares war on Spain
1526 1st slave revolt occurs in South Carolina
1529 Treaty of Saragosa Spain & Portugal divide eastern hemisphere
1648 English army claims king Charles I responsible for bloodshed
1659 Lord protector Cromwell disbands English parliament
1662 Royal Society incorporates
1671 King Charles II sits in on English parliament
1674 Netherlands & Münster sign peace treaty
1676 Battle of Etna - Netherlands/Spain vs France, M de Ruyter fatally wounded
1677 Battle at Catania between French & Dutch fleet
1692 Edward Bishop is jailed for proposong flogging as cure for witchcraft
1722 19 VOC "komplotteurs" in Batavia executed
1728 Pierre de Marivaux' "Le Triomphe de Plutus", premieres in Paris France
1769 Madame du Barry becomes King Louis XV's "official" mistress
1793 President George Washington attends opening of Rickett's, 1st circus in US
1796 Napoleon defeats Piedmontese at Battle of Mondovi
1804 Gioacchino Rossini (12) performs in Imola
1809 Battle at Eckmühl - Napoleon beats Austria arch duke Karl
1817 Curaçao prohibits use of white paint due to fierce sunlight
1823 Baltic Club (Exchange) forms in London
1823 R J Tyers patents roller skates
1838 English steamship "Sirius" docks in NYC after Atlantic crossing
1861 Robert E Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces
1864 US mints 2¢ coin (1st appearance of "In God We Trust")
1876 1st National League game, Boston Braves beat Philadelphia Athletics 6-5; Philadelphia Athletics Wes Fisler scores baseball's 1st run
1876 Tchaikovsky completes his "Swan Lake" ballet
1884 Thomas Stevens starts 1st bicycle trip around the world (2 years 9 months)
1884 US recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
1889 Oklahoma land rush officially starts; as many as nine out of ten of these settlers had jumped the gun, earning themselves the name "Sooners"
1893 Francis Dhanis army occupies Kasongo
1893 Paul Kruger elected President of Transvaal for 3rd time
1897 NYC Jewish newspaper "Forward" begins publishing (stiil active)
1898 1st Spanish-American War action USS Nashville, takes enemy ship
1898 Baltimore Oriole James Hughes no-hits Boston Braves 8-0
1898 Cincinnati Red Theodore Breitenstein no-hits Pirates 11-0
1898 Congress passes Volunteer Army Act calling for a Volunteer Cavalry
1898 US President William McKinley orders blockade of Cuban harbors
1903 American Power Boat Association forms
1903 New York Highlanders (Yankees) 1st game, Senators win 3-1 before 11,950
1905 Operations begin uniting conservatory of Nature Monument in Amsterdam
1906 Olympic games held in Athens are not accepted by the IOC
1906 New rule puts umpire in sole charge of all game balls
1908 Queensland beat New South Wales by 171 runs for their 1st cricket win at Gabba
1913 Montenegro troops march into Skoetari, North-Albania
1914 Babe Ruth's 1st professional game (as a pitcher) is a 6-hit 6-0 win
1914 México ends diplomatic relations with US
1915 1st military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany) in WWI
1915 2nd Battle of Ypres begins
1915 New York Yankees don pinstripes & hat-in-the-ring logo for 1st time
1916 France battles at Fort Douaumont
1922 South Ossetian Autonomous Region is established in Georgian SSR
1924 Hague Chambers of Commerce forms, Netherlands
1926 Persia, Turkey & Afghánistán sign treaties of security
1927 1st performance of Roger Sessions' Symphony in E
1930 US, Britain & Japan sign London Naval Treaty to reduce naval forces
1931 Egypt & Iraq sign peace treaty
1933 Dutch government forbids leftwing radio address
1937 NYC college students stage 4th annual peace strike
1940 Rear Admiral Joseph Taussig testifies before US Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable (He was right)
1943 German counter attack in North-Tunisia
1943 RAF shoots down 14 German transport planes over Mediterranean Sea
1944 Allies land near Hollandia, New-Guinea
1944 Hitler & Mussolini meet at Salzburg
1945 Concentration Camp at Sachsenhausen liberated
1945 Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 3
1946 SED, Sozialistic Einheitspartei Deutschlands, party forms
1947 1st NBA Championship Philadelphia Warriors beat Chicago Stags, 4 games to 2
1948 WTVR TV channel 6 in Richmond VA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1951 Ticker-tape parade for General MacArthur in NYC
1952 1st atomic explosion on network news, Nob NV
1952 Eugène Ionesco's "Les Chaises", premieres in NYC
1954 NBA adopts the 24-second shot clock & 6 team-foul rule
1954 Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings began
1954 Achiel van Acker forms Belgian government
1954 USSR joins UNESCO
1955 Congress orders all US coins bear motto "In God We Trust"
1955 Kansas City Athletic's 1st game, beat Tigers 6-2
1956 Patty Berg wins LPGA Dallas Golf Open
1957 All National League teams intergates, John Irwin Kennedy is 1st black on Phillies
1959 Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City Athletics 20-6, in 1 inning Sox score 11 runs on 1 hit, 10 walks, & 3 errors
1959 New York Yankee Whitey Ford strikes-out 15, beating Washington Senators, 1-0 in 14 innings
1961 Uprising of French parachutist of General Salan/Challe in Algeria
1962 Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Sunshine Golf Open
1962 New York Mets tie a National League record by losing 9 straight to start season
1962 Pittsburgh Pirates tie then record of 10 straight wins to start season
1962 Stanley Cup Toronto Maple Leafs beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 2
1964 World's Fair (Flushing Meadow, Corona Park, New York) opens
1966 Atlanta Braves win their 1st game, beating New York Mets 8-4
1966 USSR performs underground nuclear test
1967 Martial Law goes into effect in Greece
1969 1st human eye transplant performed
1969 Joe Frazier KOs Dave Zyglewick in 1:36 for heavyweight boxing title
1969 Robin Knox-Johnston ends 312 day non-stop sailing
1970 1st Earth Day held internationally to conserve natural resources
1970 New York Mets' Jerry Grote sets record of 20 put outs by a catcher
1970 New York Mets' Tom Seaver consecutively strikes out 10 San Diego Padres, for a total of 19
1970 Washington Senators beat New York Yankees 2-1 in 18 innings
1970 "Park" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 5 performances
1970 Flat Earth celebrated
1971 Soyuz 10 launched
1972 Apollo astronauts John Young & Charles Duke ride on the Moon
1974 Barbara Walters becomes news co-anchor of the Today Show
1975 Pittsburgh Penguins 2-New York Islanders 4-Quarterfinals-Penguins hold 3-2 lead
1976 Director Ingmar Bergman leaves Sweden due to taxation
1977 Simon Peres becomes premier of Israel
1978 Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Earl Anthony
1978 'The Blues Brothers' (Dan Akroyd and John Belushi) make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live
1979 Keith Richards and The New Barbarians give a concert to benefit the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Ottawa Canada
1979 Jane Blalock wins LPGA Florida Lady Citrus Golf Tournament
1981 10,000 copper workers in Chile strike
1981 Almost 1 million West German metal workers on strike
1981 Dodgers rookie Fernando Valenzuela tosses his 3rd shutout in 4 starts
1981 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1982 Atlanta Braves lose after winning 1st 13 games of season
1982 Launch of STS-3-Lousma & Fullerton
1983 New York Rangers 2-New York Islanders 5-Patrick Division Finals-Islanders win series 4-2
1983 Soyuz T-8 returns to Earth
1983 Stern magazine announces major historical find-discovery of 60 volume personal diaries written by Adolf Hitler (turned out to be a hoax)
1983 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1983 Start of 1st Sri Lanka-Australia Test Cricket match (at Kandy)
1984 Vicki Fergon wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic
1986 Consumer Price Index drops .04% for 2nd month in a row
1986 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1987 Sri Lanka Air Force bomb Tamil, 100s killed
1988 Women are allowed to compete in the Little 500 bicycle race in Bloomington IN, for the 1st time
1988 New Jersey Devil Patrik Sundstrom ties NHL playoff record of 8 points in a playoff game (hat trick & 5 assists) in 10-4 rout over the Capitals
1989 Nolan Ryan strikes out his 5,000th batter (Rickey Henderson)
1989 "Welcome to the Club" closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 12 performances
1990 "Truly Blessed" opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 33 performances
1990 Lebanon releases US hostage Robert Polhill after 39 months
1991 Intel releases the 486SX chip
1991 Johnny Carson announces he will retire next year from Tonight Show
1991 Shalom America (Jewish cable network) is launched in Brooklyn & Queens
1991 Earthquake strikes Costa Rica & Panamá, kills 95
1991 Frank Thomas is 1st Chicago White Sox to homer at new Comiskey Park
1992 "High Rollers Social & Pleasure Club" closes at Helen Hayes NYC 14 performances
1992 6.0 earthquake in California
1992 Gas explodes in sewer, kills 200 in Guadalajara México
1992 Plane crash at Perris Valley Airport, California, kills 16 parachutists
1993 "Who's Tommy" opens at St James Theater NYC for 899 performances
1993 Candid Camera creator Allen Funt suffers a stroke at 78
1993 Holocaust Memorial Museum dedicated in Washington DC
1993 Seattle Mariner Chris Basio no-hits Boston Red Sox
1993 Tennis star Björn Börg divorces Loredana Berte
1994 7,000 Tutsi's slaughtered in stadium of Kibuye Rwanda
1994 Børge Ousland reaches North pole
1994 Ice skater Tonya Harding sues ex-husband Jeff Gillooly for $42,500
1994 In Denmark the largest lollipop, weighing 3,011 pounds is made
1994 Michael Moorer beats Evander Holyfield in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
1994 Schelto Patijn appointed mayor of Amsterdam
1995 General Tire World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Mike Aulby
1995 George Foreman beats Axel Schulz in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
=====================================================

Missing In Action......

1961 BALLENGER ORVILLE ROGER COLUMBUS OH 08/17/62 RELEASED
1961 BIBER GERALD MACK BENKELMAN NE PROB KIA IN AMBUSH AFT OVRUN SFG CO B 7TH SFG (ABN) 1SF
1961 BISCHOFF JOHN MALCOM MOUNTAIN REST SC PROB KIA IN AMBUSH AFT OVRUN
1961 MOON WALTER H. RUDY AR 07/22/61 KIA IN ESCAPE
1966 BOYD CHARLES G. ROCKWELL CITY IA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1966 BRUNSTROM ALAN L. MIAMI FL 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1966 NICKERSON WILLIAM B. STAMFORD CT
1966 WEIMORTS ROBERT F. EIGHT MILE AL
1968 COOLEY DAVID L. WARWICK VA RADIO CONTACT LOST
1968 CHOMYK WILLIAM HICKSVILLE NY
1968 PALMGREN EDWIN D. WINSTON-SALEM NC
1968 RIGGINS ROBERT P. CHAMPAIGN IL
1969 SCOTT VINCENT CALVIN JR RICHMOND VA
1969 VAN CLEAVE WALTER SHELBY DALLAS TX
1970 ADACHI THOMAS Y. LOS ANGELES CA GROUP BURIAL 11/08/95
1970 BROOKS WILLIAM L. TOLAR TX GROUP BURIAL 11/08/95
1970 DAVIS CHARLIE B. DAYSBORO KY REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95
1970 FISHER DONALD G. HAZLETON PA GROUP BURIAL 11/08/95
1970 GOLZ JOHN B. ROCK ISLAND IL
1970 HARRIS STEPHEN W. SPRINGFIELD MO REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL
1970 HENSLEY RONNIE L. RICHWOOD WV REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL
1970 IRELAND ROBERT N. SAN BERNARDINO CA REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL
1970 LINT DONALD M. DES MOINES IA REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL
1970 ROWLEY CHARLES S. RIVERTON CT REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95 GROUP BURIAL ID DISPUTED
1970 TOWLE JOHN C. HARRISBURG IL REMAINS RETURNED AND IDENTIFIED 09/95

Births which occurred on April 22:

1357 Johan I King of Portugal (1383-1433)
1451 Isabella I of Castile, Queen of Spain (1479-1504), patron of Columbus
1515 Antoine of Bourbon duke of Vendôme/king of Navarra
1610 Alexander VIII [Pietro Ottoboni] Italy, lawyer/Pope (1689-91)
1640 Mariana Alcoforado Portugal, nun
1658 Giuseppe Torelli Italy, composer (Concerti Grossi op 8)
1682 Willem I Kerricx the Young Flemish architect/sculptor/painter
1690 John Carteret Earl Granville ©, English chief minister (1722-42)
1707 Henry Fielding England, novelist (Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones)
1724 Immanuel Kant Konigsberg Germany, philosopher (Critique of Pure Reason)
1766 Madame de Stael Swiss-French belle-lettrist (An Extraordinary Woman)
1773 Jean V baron de Rebecque Swiss/Dutch army leader
1775 Georg Hermes German philosopher/theologist (Hermenianen)
1777 Henry Clay the great compromiser
1781 Christian Friedrich Hermann Uber composer
1799 Jean Poiseuille physician/physiologist (blood pressure)
1816 Philip James Bailey English poet (Festus)
1818 Cadwallader Colden Washburn Major General (Union volunteers)
1823 Alfred Gibbs Major General (Union Army), died in 1868
1827 William Hopkins Morris Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1900
1828 Guilherme Antonio Cossoul composer
1831 Alexander McDowell McCook Major General (Union volunteers)
1832 Julius Sterling Morton Adams NY, (Governor-NE), started Arbor Day
1839 August W Eichler German botanist
1853 Alphonse Bertillon France, anthropologist, devised crime ID system
1854 Henri-Marie Lafontaine Belgium, international lawyer (Nobel 1913)
1856 [Marie] Louise Hens Flemish actress (Two Orphans)
1858 Ethel Mary Smyth composer
1863 Cornelis A J van Dishoeck Dutch publisher
1864 Phil May Wortley Yorkshire, cartoonist
1866 Hans von Seeckt German General (Future of the Reich)
1868 Jose Vianna da Motta composer
1870 Nikolai Lenin [Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov] Bolshevik/USSR revolutionist
1873 Ellen Anderson Glasgow US, novelist (Ancient Law, Pulitzer-1942)
1876 O E Rölvaag Norwegian-American novelist (Giants in the Earth)
1876 Robert Bárány Sweden, otologist, vestibular expert (Nobel 1914)
1878 Kitty Gordon Folkestone England, entertainer
1881 Alexander Kerensky Simbirsk, Russian PM (1917)
1884 Armas Emmanuel Launis composer
1884 John van Capel oldest man in Netherlands (Died Sept 3, 1992)
1884 Otto Rank [Rosenfeld] Austria, psychoanalysist (Künstler)
1889 Ludwig Renn writer
1891 Belle Bennett Milcoon Rapids IA, actress (Stella Dallas, Iron Mask)
1891 Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev Sontsovka Ukraine, composer
1892 Nikolai Obouhov composer
1899 Martyn Green London, actor (Gilbert & Sullivan, Iceman Cometh)
1899 Vladimir Nabokov St Petersburg, novelist
19-- Mark Davis rocker (Ugly Kid Joe-Mad Man, Too Bad)
1902 Megan Lloyd George English politician
1904 J[ulius] Robert Oppenheimer New York NY, head of Manhattan (A-bomb) Project
1906 Eric William Fenby composer/president (Delius Society)
1908 Eddie Albert [Heimberger] Rock Island IL, actor (Oliver-Green Acres)
1909 Ralph Byrd Dayton OH, actor (Dick Tracy TV Show)
1910 Eric Scowen physician
1910 R J Ritchie tennis player
1912 Gavalda Miguel Querol composer
1912 Kathleen Mary Ferrier England, contralto (Orfeo Ed Evridice)
1914 Charles Hubert Sisson author/poet (Christopher Homm)
1914 Hans Baumann writer
1914 Jan de Hartog Dutch/English writer (Holland's Glory)
1915 Dick Dudley Tennessee, TV host (Village Barn)
1915 Lord Airedale British Lord (Socialist Democrat)
1916 Yehudi Menuhin New York NY, violinist/conductor (Bartok's Sonata)
1916 Earl of Oxford & Asquith Governor (Seychelles)
1917 Leo Abse biographer/MP
1917 Mile Yvette Chauviré France, ballerina assoluta (Sleeping Beauty)
1917 Sidney Nolan Australia, painter/illustrator (Ned Kelly)
1918 Robert Wadlow Alton IL, world's tallest man (8'11.1")
1919 Donald Cram US, biochemist (Nobel 1987)
1920 Hal March San Francisco CA, actor/TV host ($64,000 Question, Outrage)
1920 Jos de Haes Flemish philological/poet (Misery of the Word)
1922 Charles Mingus Arizona, jazz musician (Pithecanthropus Erectus)
1922 Lou Stein Philadelphia PA, pianist (Tonight! America After Dark)
1922 Richard C Diebenkorn Jr US, painter (Ocean Park Paintings)
1923 Aaron Spelling Dallas TX, TV executive producer (Charlie's Angels, Melrose Place, Dynasty, Love Boat, Starsky and Hutch, Mod Squad)
1923 Betty Page Kingsport TN, playmate (January 1955)/model (Dark Angel)
1923 Hugh Lloyd actor (Punch & Judy Man, Dunroamin' Rising)
1923 Paula Fox US children's books author (Poor George)
1923 Peter Bowring CEO (C T Bowring)
1925 Christopher Ball Oxford, warden (Keble College)
1925 George Cole London England, actor (Minder, Vampire Lovers)
1926 Bob Flannigan Greencastle IN, singer (4 Freshmen)
1926 Charlotte Rae Milwaukee WI, actress (Edna-Facts of Life)
1926 James Stirling Scottish D-day-parachutist/architect/knight
1927 Pascal Bentoiu composer
1928 Margaret Pereira forensic scientist
1929 Geoffrey Marshall Provost (Queen's College, Oxford)
1929 Margaret Pereira forensic scientist
1929 Michael Atiyah educator (Trinity College - Cambridge England)
1929 Robert Wade-Gery diplomat/exec director (Barclays de Zoete Wedd)
1929 Victoria Opoku-Ware Ghanaian queen
1931 Robert Dickson Canada, ice hockey player (1948)
1931 Henk Gortzak Dutch MP (CPN/PSP)
1931 Ronald Hynd British choreographer (English National Ballet)
1931 Siem Vroom Dutch actor (The Lift, Bridge Too Far, Mysteries)
1932 Michael Colgrass Chicago IL, composer (Best Wishes)
1933 John A Llewellyn Cardiff Wales, astronaut
1933 Robin Hutton merchant banker
1934 David Ratford diplomat
1934 John K Barlow English rubberplanter/financier/multi-millionaire
1934 Nico Ladenis British restauranteur (Nico at 90)/=
1934 Viscount Portman British landowner/multi-millionaire
1935 Christopher Ball linguist/warden (Keble College-Oxford)
1936 Glen Campbell Delight AR, actor/singer (Rhinestone Cowboy, By the Time I get to Phoenix, Galveston, Wichita Lineman)
1937 Jack Nicholson Neptune NJ, actor (As Good As It Gets, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Shining)
1937 Bobbi Fiedler (Representative-Republican-CA, 1981- )
1937 David Summerscale head master (Westminster School England)
1937 Jack Nitzsche composer/songwriter (An Officer & a Gentleman)
1937 Ken[neth] Palmer cricketer (1-190 in only Test for England, now Test umpire)
1938 Alan Bond tycoon/yachtsman
1939 Jason Miller Scranton PA, actor/writer (Exorcist, Light of Day)
1939 John Chilcot civil servant
1939 John Foley Major-General
1940 Peter Goldstein joint founder (Superdrug)
1943 Mel Carter singer (Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me)
1943 Steve Dunne cricketer (New Zealand Test umpire on international panel)
1944 Joshua Rifkin composer
1945 Alan Dukes Irish President (Fine Gael
1945 Donald Graham US businessman(?)
1945 Gielijn Escher Dutch postage stamp artist
1945 Robert Key MP/British undersecretary for National Heritage
1946 Dectuplets Bacacay Brazil, 8 males & 2 females
1946 Archy Kirkwood MP (L-D)
1947 Barry Guy composer
1948 Carole Drinkwater actress (Father, All Creatures Great & Small)
1949 Spencer Haywood Silver City MS, NBA star (Seattle Supersonics, New York Knicks, Olympics-gold-1968)
1950 Jancis Robinson wine writer/broadcaster
1950 Lewis Biggs curator (Tate Gallery-North Liverpool)
1950 Peter Frampton Kent England, guitarist/vocalist (Frampton Comes Alive)
1952 Steve Bond Haifa Israel, actor (Jimmy Lee Holt-General Hospital, To Die For)
1954 Joseph Bottoms Santa Barbara CA, actor (Surfacing, Blind Date)
1955 Arthur Baker rock producer (Afrika Banbaataa-Planet Rock)
1957 Alan Campbell Homestead FL, actor (EZ-3's a Crowd)
1957 Ethel White WBL guard (New York Stars)
1958 Ashraf Ali cricket wicket-keeper (Pakistani mid-80s)
1958 Ken Olandt actor (April Fool's Day, Imposter, Leprechaun)
1959 Catherine Mary Stewart Edmonton Alberta Canada, actress (Passion & Paradise, Riding the Edge)
1959 Nicky Le Roux South Africa, LPGA golfer (1994 Atlanta champion-15th)
1959 Ranjan Madugalle cricketer (pioneer of Sri Lanka's Test teams)
1959 Ryan Stiles Seattle WA, actor (Lewis-Drew Carey Show)
196- Brooke McCarter Philadelphia PA, actor (Paul-The Lost Boys)
1960 Lloyd Honeyghan English welterweight boxing champion (1986)
1961 Byron Allen Los Angeles CA, comedian (Real People, Byron Allen Show)
1961 Jeff Hostetler NFL quarterback (New York Giants, Raiders, Redskins/1990 Superbowl)
1961 Jimmy Key Huntsville AL, pitcher (Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Orioles)
1962 David Wettlaufer Kitchener Ontario Canada, golfer (Ontario Beefeater-1986, 87)
1962 Denise Baldwin Atlanta GA, LPGA golfer (1991 Futures Salisbury)
1964 Bob McCann NBA forward (Washington Bullets)
1964 Chris Makepeace Toronto Ontario Canada, actor (Vamp, My Bodyguard, Meatballs, Oasis)
1966 Glenn Parker NFL offensive tackle (Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs)
1966 Serge Poudrier hockey defenseman (Team France 1998)
1967 Bart Bowen Albuquerque NM, cyclist (Olympics-96)
1967 Harvey Williams NFL running back (Oakland Raiders)
1967 Mike Buck NFL quarterback (Arizona Cardinals)
1967 Sheryl Lee Boulder CO, actress (Twin Peaks, Love Lies & Murder)
1968 Bimbo Coles NBA guard (Golden State Warriors)
1968 Carlos Costa Spain, tennis star
1968 Jo Angel cricketer (big Western Australia right-arm fast bowler, Australia 1993-)
1968 Vernell Coles basketball player (Olympics-bronze-1988)
1968 Zarley Zalapski Edmonton, NHL defenseman (Calgary Flames)
1969 Craig Logan Scotland, rock bassist (Brothers Front, Bon Jovi-New Jersey)
1969 Bobby Olive NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts)
1969 George Williams Lacrosse WI, catcher (Oakland A's)
1969 Roger Jones NFL center (Cincinnati Bengals)
1970 Claus Biedermann WLAF linebacker (Rhein Fire)
1970 Coleman Bell NFL tight end (Washington Redskins)
1971 Ingo Rademacher German Federal Republic, actor (Jasper Jacks-General Hospital)
1971 James Burton NFL cornerback (Chicago Bears)
1971 Milos Holan Bilovec Czechoslovakia, NHL defenseman (Anaheim Mighty Ducks)
1971 Nicklas Kulti Sweden, tennis star
1972 Anna Falchi Tampera Finland, actress (La Dolce Vita '90)
1972 Sabine Appelmans Aalst Belgium, tennis star (Strasbourg doubles final)
1973 Christopher Sanders tight end (Washington Redskins)
1973 Scott Fields NFL linebacker (Atlanta Falcons)
1974 Scott Nemes actor (Ricky Halsenbach-The Wonder Years, Grant Schumacker-It's Garry Shandling)
1974 Adam Parfitt Victoria British Columbia Canada, rower (Olympics-96)
1974 Georgia Goettmann model (Cosmopolitan-May 1995)
1975 Brian Manning wide receiver (Miami Dolphins)
1975 Stijn Haeldermans Belgian soccer player (MVV)
1976 Milena Mayorga Miss El Salvador-Universe (1996)
1980 Aaron Metchnik Santa Barbara CA, actor (Stephen-Torkelsons)
1980 Monica Flammer Gainesville FL, gymnast (alternate-Olympics-96)
1985 Lauri Hendler Fort Belvoir VA, actress (Julie-Gimme a Break)
======================================================

Deaths which occurred on April 22:

0536 Agapitus I Italian Pope (535-36), dies
1253 Elias van Cortona Italian General (1232-39), dies at about 53
1355 Eleonora Plantagenet daughter of King Edward II, dies at 36
1462 Gilbert of Lannoy master of Villerval/Tronchiennes/Santes, dies
1521 Juan de Padilla Spanish nobleman/communero-rebel, beheaded
1592 Bartolommeo Ammanati Italian sculptor/architect, dies at 80
1648 Catharina Belgian van Nassau daughter of Willem, dies at 69
1662 John Tradescant traveller/gardener, dies
1672 Georg Stiernhielm Swedish scholar/author/poet (Hercules), dies at 73
1677 Wenzel E Fürst von Lobkowitz Austria chancellor (16..-74), dies at 68
1699 Hans A baron von Abschatz Silesian poet, dies at 53
1722 Pieter Erberfeld German/Thais merchant on Java, dies
1776 Johann Adolph Scheibe German music theroist/composer, dies at 67
1778 James Hargreaves inventor (spinning jenny), dies
1782 Josef Ferdinand Norbert Seger composer, dies at 66
1788 Zacharias H Alewijn Dutch poet, dies 46
1821 John Crome [Old Crome] English landscape painter/etcher, dies at 52
1827 Thomas Rowlandson caricaturist, dies
1830 Knud L Rahbek Danish literary/historian, dies at 69
1833 Richard Trevithick inventor (steam locomotive), dies at 62
1844 Henri-Montan Berton composer, dies at 76
1864 Joseph Gilbert Totten US Union General-Major, dies at 76
1865 Francis Washburn US Union Colonel/General Major, dies of injuries
1883 Octave Fouque composer, dies at 38
1892 Edouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo composer, dies at 69
1899 E J [Ned] Gregory cricketer (one Test for Australia), dies
1901 William Stubbs historian/bishop, dies
1908 Henry Campbell-Bannerman British premier (1905-08), dies
1929 Odon Peter Jozsef de Mihalovich composer, dies at 86
1930 Jeppe Aakjær Danish journalist/author/poet (Rugens sange), dies at 63
1933 Frederick Henry Royce motorcar pioneer, dies
1941 Arthur Briscoe cricketer (South African batsman in 2 Tests), dies
1944 Mezio Agostini composer, dies at 68
1945 Käthe Kollwitz German graphic artist, dies at 77
1946 Harlan Fiske Stone Chief Justice Supreme Court (1941-46), dies at 73
1946 Lionel Atwill actor (Captain Blood, Great Waltz), dies at 61
1950 Charles H Houston architect of NAACP legal campaign, dies at 54
1951 Stanley Ridges actor (possessed, Sergeant York, Mr Ace), dies at 59
1953 Top Naeff [Anthonetta van Rhijn-N] Dutch writer, dies at 75
1957 Ignatius Roy D Campbell British poet (Garcia Lorca), dies at 54
1961 Maria Radulphus [Adrian Hermus] Curaçao school inspector, dies at 91
1962 Solomon Pimsleur composer, dies at 61
1962 Vera Reynolds actress (Dragnet Patrol, Lawless Woman), dies at 62
1967 Tom Conway actor (Mark Saber, Betty Hutton Show), dies at 62
1975 Mary Philips actress (Farewell to Arms), dies at 75
1976 Frutuoso de Lima Viana composer, dies at 79
1977 Charles Sanford orchestra leader (Your Show of Shows), dies at 71
1978 Will[iam Auge] Geer actor (Grandpa-The Waltons), dies from a respiratory ailment at 75
1980 Jane Froman singer (Jane Froman's USA Canteen), dies at 72
1981 Brailsford Reese Brazeal dean (Morehouse College), dies at 76
1982 Melville Bell Grosvenor president (National Geographic Society), dies at 80
1983 Earl "Fatha" Hines US, jazz pianist/conductor, dies
1984 Ansel Adams US photographer, dies at 82
1986 Mircea Eliade writer, dies
1988 Irene Rich US actress (Beau Brumell, Champ), dies at 96
1989 Huey Newton US, Black Panther leader, shot dead at 47
1990 Bertil Unger actor (Devil & Max Devlin), dies
1992 Billy Wayne White murderer, executed in Texas at 34
1992 Joop [Joseph] van Santen Dutch 1st Chamber member (CPN), dies
1992 Youcca Troubatzkoy actress (Flower of the Night), dies
1993 Andries Treurnicht founder South Africa Conservative Party, dies at 72
1993 Cesar Chavez US farm worker (United Farm Workers), dies at 66
1993 Mark Koenig baseball shortstop (New York Yankees), dies at 88
1994 D Nauta theologist/church historian/lawyer, dies at 96
1994 Denis Pitts journalist, dies at 64
1994 Jack Alexander Bently trombonist, dies at 80
1994 Richard Milhous Nixon 37th US President (1969-74), dies of stroke at 81
1994 Schmidt Hans Burkhardt artist, dies at 89
1995 Don Pullen pianist/composer, dies at 53
1995 Maggie Kuhn activist (Gray Panthers), dies at 89
1996 David Shipman film historian, dies at 63
1996 Erma Bombeck humorist (Grass is Greener over the Septic Tank), dies at 69
1996 Hiteshwar Saikia PM of Indian state of Assam (1991-96), dies

1778 John Paul Jones leads American raid on Whitehaven, England

At 11 p.m. on this day in 1778, Commander John Paul Jones leads a small detachment of two boats from his ship, the USS Ranger, to raid the shallow port at Whitehaven, England, where, by his own account, 400 British merchant ships are anchored. Jones was hoping to reach the port at midnight, when ebb tide would leave the shops at their most vulnerable.

Jones and his 30 volunteers had greater difficulty than anticipated rowing to the port, which was protected by two forts. They did not arrive until dawn. Jones’ boat successfully took the southern fort, disabling its cannon, but the other boat returned without attempting an attack on the northern fort, after the sailors claimed to have been frightened away by a noise. To compensate, Jones set fire to the southern fort, which subsequently engulfed the entire town.

Commander Jones, one of the most daring and successful naval commanders of the American Revolution, was born in Scotland on July 6, 1747. He was apprenticed to a merchant at the age of 13 and soon went to sea from Whitehaven, the very port he returned to attack on this day in 1778. In Virginia at the onset of the revolution, Jones sided with the Patriots and received a commission as a first lieutenant in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.

After the raid on Whitehaven, Jones continued to his home territory of Kirkcudbright Bay, where he intended to abduct the earl of Selkirk, then exchange him for American sailors held captive by Britain. Although he did not find the earl at home, Jones’ crew was able to steal all his silver, including his wife’s teapot, still containing her breakfast tea. From Scotland, Jones sailed across the Irish Sea to Carrickfergus, where the Ranger captured the HMS Drake after delivering fatal wounds to the British ship’s captain and lieutenant.

In September 1779, Jones fought one of the fiercest battles in naval history when he led the USS Bonhomme Richard frigate, named for Benjamin Franklin, in an engagement with the 50-gun British warship HMS Serapis. The USS Bonhomme Richard was struck; it began taking on water and caught fire. When the British captain of the Serapis ordered Jones to surrender, Jones famously replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!” A few hours later, the captain and crew of the Serapis admitted defeat and Jones took command of the British ship.

Jones went on to establish himself as one of the great naval commanders in history; he is remembered, along with John Barry, as a “Father of the American Navy.” He is buried in a crypt in the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel at Annapolis, Maryland, where a Marine honor guard stands at attention in his honor whenever the crypt is open to the public.
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1863 Grierson's raid cuts telegraph wires near Macon

Colonel Benjamin Grierson's troops bring destruction to central Mississippi on a two-week raid along the entire length of the state.

This action was a diversion in General Ulysses S. Grant's campaign to capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, the last remaining Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. Grant had his army on the western shore of the river, but he was planning to cross the mighty river south of Vicksburg, and move against Vicksburg from the west. Grierson's orders were to destroy enemy supplies, telegraph lines, and railroads in Mississippi.

Grierson crafted a brilliant campaign. He left La Grange, Tennessee, on April 17 with 1,700 cavalry troopers and began traveling down the eastern side of the state. Whenever Confederate cavalry approached, Grierson sent out a diversionary force to draw them away. The diversionary units then rode back to La Grange, while the main force continued south. On April 22, he dispatched Company B of the 7th Illinois regiment to destroy telegraph lines at Macon, Mississippi, while Grierson rode to Newton Station. Here, Grierson could inflict damage on the Southern Mississippi Railroad, the one specific target identified by Grant. On April 24, his men tore up the tracks and destroyed two trainloads of ammunition bound for Vicksburg.

On May 2, Grierson and his men rode into Union occupied Baton Rouge, Louisiana, ending one of the most spectacular raids of the war. The Yankees killed about 100 Confederates, took 500 prisoners, destroyed 50 miles of rail line, and destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars of supplies and property. Grierson lost just 3 men killed, 7 wounded, 14 missing. More important, the raiders drew the attention of Confederate troops in Mississippi and weakened the forces at Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Louisiana. Both strongholds fell to the Union in July 1863. For his efforts, Grierson was promoted to brigadier general.
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1915 Second Battle of Ypres begins

On this day in 1915, German forces shock Allied soldiers along the Western Front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres in Belgium.

Toxic smoke had been used occasionally in warfare since ancient times, and in 1912, the French used small amounts of tear gas in police operations. At the outbreak of World War I, however, the Germans began to actively develop chemical weapons. In October 1914, small tear-gas canisters were placed in shells that were fired at Neuve Chapelle, France, but Allied troops were not exposed. In January 1915, the Germans fired shells loaded with xylyl bromide, a more lethal gas, at Russian troops at Bolimov on the Eastern Front. Because of the wintry cold, most of the gas froze, but the Russians nonetheless reported more than 1,000 killed as a result of the new weapon.

On April 22, 1915, the Germans launched their first and only offensive of the year. Now referred to as the Second Battle of Ypres, the offensive began with the usual artillery bombardment of the enemy's line. When the shelling died down, the Allied defenders waited for the first wave of German attack troops but instead were thrown into panic when chlorine gas wafted across no-man's land and down into their trenches. The Germans targeted four miles of the front with the wind-blown poison gas, decimating two divisions of French and Algerian colonial troops. The Germans, perhaps as shocked as the Allies by the devastating effects of the poison gas, failed to take full advantage, and the Allies managed to hold most of their positions.

A second gas attack, against a Canadian division, on April 24, pushed the Allies further back, and, by May, they had retreated to the town of Ypres. The Second Battle of Ypres ended on May 25, with insignificant gains for the Germans. The introduction of poison gas, however, would have great significance in World War I.

Immediately after the German gas attack at Ypres, the French and British began developing their own chemical weapons and gas masks. With the Germans taking the lead, an extensive number of projectiles filled with deadly substances polluted the trenches during the next several years of war. Mustard gas, introduced by the Germans in 1917, blistered the skin, eyes and lungs, and killed thousands. Military strategists defended the use of poison gas by saying it reduced the enemy's ability to respond and thus saved lives in offensives. In reality, defenses against poison gas usually kept pace with offensive developments, and both sides employed sophisticated gas masks and protective clothing that eventually negated the strategic importance of chemical weapons.

The United States, which entered World War I in 1917, also developed and used chemical weapons. Future President Harry S. Truman was the captain of a U.S. field artillery unit that fired poison gas against the Germans in 1918. In all, more than 100,000 tons of chemical weapons agents were used in World War I, some 500,000 troops were injured from their use and almost 30,000 died, including 2,000 Americans.
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1944 Americans launch Operation Persecution in the Pacific

On this day in 1944, Allied forces land in the Hollandia area of New Guinea. The Japanese occupiers, only 15,000 in number, many of whom were on administrative duty, fight for more than three months against ludicrous odds at great cost: When the battle for the northern coast of New Guinea was finally won by the Allies, 12,811 Japanese were dead, compared with 527 Americans.
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1945 Hitler admits defeat

On this day in 1945, Adolf Hitler, learning from one of his generals that no German defense was offered to the Russian assault at Eberswalde, admits to all in his underground bunker that the war is lost and that suicide is his only recourse. Almost as confirmation of Hitler's assessment, a Soviet mechanized corps reaches Treuenbrietzen, 40 miles southwest of Berlin, liberates a POW camp and releases, among others, Norwegian Commander in Chief Otto Ruge.
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1968 South Vietnamese have increased combat capabilities

In a news conference, Defense Secretary Clark Clifford declares that the South Vietnamese have "acquired the capacity to begin to insure their own security [and] they are going to take over more and more of the fighting."

Clifford, who had succeeded Robert McNamara, had taken office with more than a little skepticism about the way the United States was conducting the war in Vietnam. This skepticism increased after the communists launched their massive offensive during the Tet (Chinese New Year) holiday earlier in 1968. Clifford set up a Vietnam task force to reassess the situation. He learned that U.S. military leaders could offer no plan for victory or assurance of success. Accordingly, he told President Lyndon B. Johnson that victory was probably impossible and recommended that the president initiate a bombing halt of North Vietnam and try to negotiate an end to the war. Clifford's comments about the combat capabilities of the South Vietnamese were part of his effort to set the stage for U.S. disengagement from the war. Johnson would follow Clifford's advice on the bombing halt in October 1968 when he called an end to Operation Rolling Thunder, the bombing campaign against North Vietnam that had been ongoing since March 1965. Clifford left office in 1969 with the rest of the Johnson administration. The next president, Richard M. Nixon, instituted a new policy that echoed many of the things that Clifford had recommended. In June 1969, Nixon announced his "Vietnamization" policy, a strategy built around two main objectives: increasing South Vietnamese combat capability and withdrawing U.S. troops.
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1972 Antiwar demonstrations held

Antiwar demonstrations prompted by the accelerated U.S. bombing in Southeast Asia draw somewhere between 30,000 to 60,000 marchers in New York; 30,000 to 40,000 in San Francisco; 10,000 to 12,000 in Los Angeles; and smaller gatherings in Chicago and other cities throughout the country. The new bombing campaign was in response to the North Vietnam's massive invasion of South Vietnam in March. As the demonstrations were happening, bitter fighting continued all over South Vietnam. In the Mekong Delta, for example, the fighting was the heaviest it had been in 18 months.