On This Day in History...

0858 Nicolas I succeeds Benedict III as Catholic Pope
1061 Halley's Comet sparks English monk to predict country'll be destroyed
1185 Battle at Danoura Yoshitsune Minamoto's fleet beats imperial fleet
1288 Jews of Yroyes France are accused of ritual murder
1311 General Malik Kafur returns to Delhi after campaign in South India
1364 Pope Urbabus V names John V van Virneburg as bishop of Utrecht
1524 Duke of Bourbon drives Admiral Bonnivet out of Milan
1547 Battle of Mühlberg Emperor Karel V vs ruler Johan F the Brave
1558 Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland marries French crown prince François
1570 Battles between Spanish troops & followers of sultan Suleiman
1596 Pacificatie of Ireland drawn
1704 "Boston News-Letter", 1st successful newspaper in US, is established
1762 Russia & Prussia signs peace treaty
1792 "La Marseillaise" composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle
1800 Library of Congress is established with $5,000 allocation
1801 1st performance of Joseph Haydn's oratorio "Die Jahreszeiten"
1823 Eugène Scribes "Le Menteur Véridique", premieres in Paris France
1833 Patent granted for 1st soda fountain to Jacob Evert & George Dulty
1854 Austria's Franz Joseph I marries Elisabeth A E "Sissi"
1863 Skirmish at Okolona/Birmingham MS (Grierson's Raid)
1865 Fire alarm & police telegraph system put into operation (San Francisco)
1867 Black demonstrators stage ride-ins on Richmond VA streetcars
1871 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida" is produced (Cairo)
1872 Volcano Vesuvius erupts
1877 Last federal occupying troops withdraw from south (New Orleans)
1877 Russia declares war on Turkey through Romania
1880 Amateur Athletic Association, governing body for men's athletics in England and Wales, is founded in Oxford, England
1883 28 Surinamers depart to Amsterdam World's Fair
1884 National Medical Association of Black physicians organizes (Atlanta GA)
1888 Eastman Kodak forms
1891 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Final Problem"
1894 Philadelphia Phillies' Lave Cross hits for the cycle vs Brooklyn Dodgers
1894 French cyclist Henri Desgrange rides 100km in world record 2:39:18
1895 Joshua Slocum completes around-the-world voyage in 11-m boat
1897 1st reporter, William Price (Washington Star), is assigned to White House
1898 Spain declares war on US rejecting ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba
1898 US fleet under commodore Dewey sails from Hong Kong to Philippines
1899 Transvaal British Uitlanders ask Queen Victoria for aid
1900 Passing of Andrew Halliday, cable car pioneer
1901 1st American League game, Chicago White Sox beat Cleveland Indians 8-2, 3 other games rained out
1905 Washington Senators execute a triple-play & beat New York Yankees 4-3
1905 1st-class Cricket debut of Jack Hobbs, Surrey vs Gentlemen (18 & 28)
1908 Mr & Mrs Jacob Murdock become the 1st to travel across the US by car, they leave Los Angeles in a Packard & arrive in NYC in 32 days-5 hours-25 minutes
1909 Harry Hillman & Lawson Robertson run 100 meter 3-legged race in 11 seconds
1910 German Catholic youth movement Quickborn forms
1915 Massacre of Armenians by Turks (Armenian Martyrs Day)
1915 Pittsburgh's Frank Allen no-hits St Louis (Federal League), 2-0
1915 German army fires chloroform gas in Ieper
1916 Easter rebellion of Irish against British occupation begins
1917 Yankee lefty George Mogridge no-hits Red Sox 2-1 at Fenway
1920 British Mandate over Palestine goes into effect (lasts 28 years)
1920 Polish troops attack Ukraine
1921 1st municipal elections for men & women in Belgium
1923 Colonel Jacob Schick patents Schick shavers
1923 General harbor strike begins in New York NY
1925 88ºF highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland OH in April
1928 Fathometer, which measures underwater depth, patented
1929 1st non-stop England to India flight takes-off
1929 Thorvald Stauning becomes premier of Denmark
1932 German national election (NSDAP 36.3% in Prussia)
1933 1st major league to get 4 consecutive doubles in 9 innings (Dick Bartell)
1938 Lindenheuvel soccer team forms
1941 British army begins evacuation of Greece
1941 Dutch Prince Bernhard becomes an RAF pilot
1942 Luftwaffe bombs Exeter
1944 1st Boeing B-29 arrives in China "over the Hump"
1944 RAF bombs Munich
1945 Albert B "Happy" Chandler is named 2nd baseball commissioner
1946 11 players Tinker, Evers, Chance, Burkett, McCarthy, Waddell, Plank, Walsh, Chesbro, Griffith, & McGinnity are named to Hall of Fame
1949 3rd Tony Awards Death of a Salesman & Kiss Me Kate win
1950 "Peter Pan" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 320 performances
1950 Independent republic of South Molukkas declared
1950 President Harry Truman denies there are communists in US government
1951 Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Sacramento Women's Golf Invitational Open
1953 Winston Churchill knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
1954 1st American, civilian pilot, P R Holden, wounded in Indochina
1954 Australia & USSR break diplomatic relations
1954 WSEE TV channel 35 in Erie PA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1955 Conference of Bandung against colonialism/for self determination ends
1955 Gaullists lose elections in France
1955 KFDM TV channel 6 in Beaumont TX (CBS) begins broadcasting
1955 KMAU (now KGMV) TV channel 3 in Wailuku HI (CBS) begins broadcasting
1956 American League umpire Frank Umont is 1st to wear glasses in a regular season game
1957 Chicago Cub pitchers walk National League record 9 Reds in 5th inning
1958 Lee Walls hits 3 homerunS, as Cubs beat Dodgers 15-2
1959 Netherlands Dance Theater opens (Rudi of Dantzig & Cut Flier)
1959 WICD TV channel 15 in Champaign IL (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1960 14th Tony Awards Miracle Worker & Fiorello! win
1960 Heavy earthquake strikes South Persia, 500 killed
1960 Louise Suggs wins LPGA Civitan Golf Open
1960 Record 4 grand slams hit today
1961 JFK accepts "sole responsibility" following Bay of Pigs
1961 The Vasa, which sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628, is raised
1962 1st Lockheed A-12 is taxi tested
1962 MIT sends TV signal by satellite for 1st time California to Massachusetts
1962 Sandy Koufax's 2nd 18-strikeout game
1963 Boston Celtics' Bob Cousy retires
1963 17th NBA Championship Boston Celtics beat Los Angeles Lakers, 4 games to 2
1963 English princess Alexandra marries sir Angus Ogilvy
1963 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1965 "Comedy in Music-Opus 2" closes at John Golden NYC after 192 performances
1965 Military coup under Donald Reid Cabral in Dominican Republic
1965 New York Mets' Casey Stengel wins his 3,000 game as manager
1966 Atlanta Braves win National League-record 18 straight home games (17 in Milwaukee)
1966 Carol Mann wins LPGA Peach Blossom Golf Invitational
1967 21st NBA Championship Philadelphia 76ers beat San Francisco Warriors, 4 games to 2
1968 Leftist students take over Columbia University, New York NY
1968 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Pete Tountas
1968 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1969 Paul McCartney says there is no truth to the rumours he is dead
1969 General Lin Piao succeeds Mao, is seriously wounded
1969 Lebanese army in battle with Palestinians
1969 US B-52's drop 3,000 ton bombs at Cambodian boundary
1970 Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth
1970 People's Rebublic of China launches its 1st satellite transmitting song "East is Red"
1970 Senegal adopts constitution
1971 Soyuz 10 returns to Earth
1971 "Frank Merriwell" opens/closes at Longacre Theater NYC for 1 performance
1974 NFL grants franchise to Tampa Bay Bucaneers
1974 Dutch women hockey team becomes world champion
1975 Penguins 1-Islanders 4-Quarterfinals-series tied at 3-3
1975 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1977 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA American Defender Golf Tournament
1978 Angels Nolan Ryan strikes out 15 Mariners, 20th time he has 15 in game
1979 Rhodesian bishop Muzorewa wins general election
1980 US military operation to save 52 hostages in Iran, fails, 8 die
1981 Bill Shoemaker wins his 8000th race, 2000 more than any other jockey
1981 San Antonio blocks 20 Golden State shots to set NBA reg game record
1981 IBM-PC computer introduced
1981 US ends grain embargo against USSR
1982 150 Khomeini followers assault student dormitory in West Germany
1982 Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Mike Durbin
1982 St Louis Cardinals win 12th game in a row; 7-4 over Philadelphia Phillies
1983 "Show Boat" opens at Uris Theater NYC for 73 performances
1983 Austrian socialist party loses parliamentary election
1983 Hollis Stacy wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic
1984 Edmonton Oiler's Wayne Gretzky is 3rd to score on a Stanley Cup penalty shot
1985 Pulitzer prize awarded to Carolyn Lizer for "Yin"
1987 Howard Stern holds a free speech rally at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza NYC
1988 Rosie Jones wins LPGA USX Golf Classic
1989 Massachusetts declares today "New Kids on the Block Day"
1989 Tens of thousands of students strike in Beijing China
1990 Security law violator Michael Milken pleads guilty to 6 felonies
1990 US 66th manned space mission STS 31 (Discovery 10) launches into orbit
1990 West & East Germany agree to merge currency & economies on July 1st
1990 Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa", premieres in Dublin
1991 26th Academy of Country Music Awards Garth Brooks wins
1992 "Man of La Mancha" with Sheena Easton opens at Marquis theater NYC for 108 performances
1992 David Bowie marries model Iman in Switzerland
1992 George Steinbrenner drops his suits against baseball
1992 Vinson Pike fined £1000 for distributing obscene computer pictures
1993 1000 kg heavy IRA car bomb explodes in London, killing 1
1993 ABC news analyst Jeff Greenfield weds Karen Gannett
1993 Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by George Branham
1994 "Broken Glass" opens at Booth Theater NYC for 73 performances
1994 "Flowering Peach" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 41 performances
1994 Actress Kelly Preston (26) weds actor Lou Diamond Phillips (32)
1994 Armando Calderón Sol wins El Salvador presidential election
1994 Bomb attack in center of Johannesburg, 9 killed
1994 David Robinson scores ties 7th highest total in the NBA - 71
1994 New York Rangers sweep New York Islanders in NHL playoffs
1995 Court orders Darryl Strawberry to pay back $350,000 in taxes
1995 Dow Jones Index hits record 4303.98
1995 Package bomb, linked to Unabomber, blows up killing Gilbert B Murray
1996 "Jack-Night on Town with John Barrymore" opens at Belasco for 12 performances
1996 31st Academy of Country Music Awards Shania Twain wins
1996 Highest scoring baseball game in 17 years - Twins 24, Tigers 11
1997 "Steel Peer", opens at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC for 76 performances
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Missing In Action....

1966 COOPER WILLIAM E. ALBANY GA
1966 DRISCOLL JERRY D. CHICAGO IL 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 CHRISTIAN MICHAEL D. HUNTSVILLE AL 03/05/73 RELEASED BY DRV " DIED IN FIRE, SEPT 1983, VIRGINIA"
1967 KNAPP HERMAN L. ROSEMONT NJ
1967 TUCKER EDWIN B. BALDWINVILLE MA GOOD CHUTE REMAINS RETURNED 11/25/87 ID 02/88
1967 WILLIAMS LEWIS I. JACKSONVILLE FL 03/05/73 RELEASED BY DRV " ""IRV"" ALIVE AND WELL 98"
1968 HELLE ROBERT R. TOLEDO OH 03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98
1968 JOHNSON BUFORD GERALD WINTER GARDEN FL 09/68 REMAINS RECOVERED
1968 KAVANAUGH ABEL L. DENVER CO 03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG DECEASED TG8 SUICIDE
1968 PARKER WOODROW W. ST PETERSBURG FL DEAD REMAINS RETURNED/IDENTIFIED 10/01/98
1968 SPARKS JOHN G. CHATTANOOGA TN 03/16/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98
1968 VINSON BOBBY G. NEDERLAND TX DEAD REMAINS RETURNED /IDENTIFIED 10/01/98
1969 SHRIVER JERRY M. SACRAMENTO CA
1970 CROSS JAMES E. WARREN OH
1970 REESE GOMER D. III SCARSDALE NY
1971 CHAMPION JAMES A. HOUSTON TX
1971 MALO ISSAKO F. SAN FRANCISCO CA 03/27/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE 99
1972 CARTER GEORGE W. APOPKA FL KIA ON ISLE
1972 ELLEN WADE L. NORFOLK VA KIA ON ISLE GLADIATOR 17
1972 HUNSICKER JAMES E. DENVER PA KIA ON ISLE GLADIATOR
1972 JONES JOHNNY M. AUBURN AL KIA ON ISLE GLADIATOR
1972 YONAN KENNETH J. CHICAGO IL "LAST SEEN ON WATER TOWER, REMAINS RET. 04/88" ID 11/88
1972 ZOLLICOFFER FRANKLIN KOSCIUSKO MS KIA ON ISLE

Births which occurred on April 24:

1538 Gugliemo Gonzaga composer
1576 San Vicente de Paúl
1594 Benedikt Lechler composer
1620 John Graunt statistician, founder of science of demography
1660 Cornelis Dusart Dutch painter/engraver
1670 Christian Ludwig Boxberg composer
1706 Giovanni Battista Martini composer
1721 Johann Philipp Kirnberger German composer, baptised
1742 Roman Hoffstetter composer
1743 Edmund Cartwright England, cleric, inventor (power loom)
1750 Simon-Antoine-Jean Lhuillier Swiss mathematician
1766 Robert Bailey Thomas founded Farmer's Almanac
1769 Arthur Wellesley General/Duke of Wellington
1773 Harman W Muntinghe lawyer/Dutch colonial director
1791 Nikolaj A Bestuzhev Russia, writer/painter (Account about Holland)
1796 K L Immermann writer
1804 Thomas Oliver Selfridge Commander (Union Navy)
1807 Charles Ferguson Smith Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
1814 Angela Burdett-Coutts philanthropist extrordinaire
1814 Vincente F López Argentina historian (La Novia del Hereje)
1815 Anthony Trollope England, novelist/poet (Barchester Towers)
1815 James Edward Harrison Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1875
1822 Erastus Barnard Tyler Brevet Major General (Union volunteers)
1824 Fournier Swiss/French postage stamp forger
1828 Robert Brank Vance Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1899
1829 George Peabody Estey Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1881
1836 Jeltje de Bosch Kemper Dutch feminist
1837 Friedrich von Holstein German diplomat (die graue Eminenz)
1845 Carl Spitteler Switzerland, poet (Prometheus & Epimetheus/Nobel 1919)
1849 Joseph S Galliéni General (Battle of Marne)/military governor (Paris)
1851 Eduardo Acevedo Díaz Uruguaian writer (Ismael, Grito de Gloria)
1856 Henri POBJ Pétain French marshal (Verdun/Vichy regime)
1864 George Alting van Geusau Director-General (PTT)/Dutch Minister of War (1918-20)
1867 Fannie Thomas became oldest known American (113 y 273 d at death)
1873 Theodor Körner von Siegringen Austrian General/President
1874 John Russell Pope US, architect (Jefferson Memorial)
1874 Willem E Roelofs Dutch painter/cartoonist
1875 Jeno Huszka composer
1877 Charles Cuvillier composer
1883 Jaroslav Hasek Czechoslovakia, writer (Brave soldier Schweik) [or April 30]
1886 Kurt Pinthus writer
1886 R Pelgrom oldest Dutch man (died Apr 15, 1994, 9 days short of 108)
1889 [Richard] Stafford Cripps English Minister of Plane-manufacturing (1942-45)
1892 Jack Hulbert Ely England, actor (Into the Blue, Bulldog Jack)
1893 Robert Harron New York NY, actor (Birth of a Nation, Intolerance)
1895 S Constantine Timoshenko Russian marshal/people's commissioner
1897 Benjamin Lee Whorf linguist (or 1797)
1897 Gyorgy Kosa composer
19-- Colleen Quinn actress (Carly Rescott-Loving)
19-- John Vargas actor (Lorenzo Delgado-Primary Colors)
1903 Mike Michalske NFL guard (New York Yankees, Green Bay Packers)
1903 José A Primo de Rivera y Saénz de Heredia founder (Spanish Falange)
1903 Siegfried F Nadel Austrian/British anthropologist (Black Byzantium)
1904 Friedrich Siemens German industrialist (Siemens), dies
1904 Willem De Kooning Rotterdam Netherlands, artist (North Atlantic Light)
1905 Robert Penn Warren 1st US poet laureate (All the King's Men)
1907 Vaclav Trojan composer
1909 Bernhard Grzimek zoologist (West Germany)
1909 Irven Spence animator
1911 Jack E Leonard Chicago IL, comedian (Disorderly Orderly)
1911 Karl O Schiller German economist (Minister of Economics)
1911 Robert Joseph Kane Ithaca NY, President of US Olympic Committee (1976)
1911 Sigursveinn David Kristinsson composer
1914 Bernard Caulfield judge
1914 Justin Wilson cajun chef (Wise Potato Chips)
1914 Ruth White Perth Amboy NJ, actress (Up the Down Staircase)
1916 Stanley Kauffmann New York NY, playwright (Red Handkerchief Man)
1917 Len Creed bookmaker
1921 Laci Boldemann composer
1922 J D Cannon Salmon ID, actor (McCloud, Ike, Call to Glory)
1924 Marilyn Erskine Rochester NY, actor (Fran-Tom Ewell Show)
1924 Yehoshua Lakner composer
1927 Josy Barthel Luxembourg, 1500 meter runner (Olympics-gold-1952)
1927 Pasqualino de Santis cinematographer
1927 Patrick Bowles writer/translator
1928 Gustav Krivinka composer
1929 Ferit Tuzun composer
1930 Conn Findlay Stockton CA, coxswain (Olympics-2 gold/bronze-56, 64, 76)
1931 Bridget Riley British painter (op-art)
1932 Coen[rad] Flink Dutch actor (Pastorale 1943, Havinck, Honneponnetje)
1933 Freddie Scott US songwriter/singer (Cry to Me)
1934 John Barbour Toronto Ontario Canada, TV host (Real People)
1934 Shirley MacLaine Richmond VA, actress/mystic (Irma la Douce)
1935 Louis Keith Chicago IL, physician (expert on multiple-births)
1936 Jill Ireland London, actress (Breakout, Assassination, Chino)
1940 David Larter cricketer (two-metre tall England pace bowler)
1941 John Williams Melbourne Australia, guitarist (Academy Award)
1942 Barbra [Joan] Streisand Brooklyn NY, singer/actress/award winner (Funny Girl, The Way We Were)
1942 Richard M Daley (mayor-Democrat-Chicago)
1942 Valeri Abramovich Voloshin Russian cosmonaut
1943 Richard Sterban Camden NJ, country singer (Oak Ridge Boys-Elvira)
1944 [Bernard] St Clair Lee [Calhoun] US singer (Rock the Boat)
1945 Doug Clifford Palo Alto CA, rock drummer (Creedence Clearwater Revival-Proud Mary)
1945 Eugene O'Brien composer
1945 Robert Knight Franklin TN, rocker (Everlasting Love)
1946 Bruce Stuart Saylor composer
1947 Glenn Cornick rock bassist (Jethro Tull-Thick as a Brick)
1947 Hubert Ann Kelly US singer (Hues Corporation/Rock the boat)
1948 Benzion Freshwater English multi-millionaire
1948 Eddie James Hart Martinez CA, 4x100 meter relay runner (Olympics-gold-72)
1949 Wilfrido [Radamés] Vargas [Martínez] Altamira Puerto Plata Dominican Republic, Spanish singer (El Barbarazoí)
1951 Andrew John Fairclough trade union educator
1953 Porter Carroll Jr drummer (Atlantic Star-Touch a 4 Leaf Clover)
1953 Eric Bogosian Woburn MA, actor (Talk Radio)
1953 John P Hiler (Representative-Republican-IN, 1981- )
1954 Captain Sensible [Raymond Burns] Balham London England, rocker (Women & Captains First)
1954 Jack Blades rock bassist (Damn Yankees-Coming of Age, Night Ranger)
1954 Vince Ferragamo NFL/CFL quarterback (Los Angeles Rams, Montréal Alouettes)
1955 Jack Kingston (Representative-Republican-GA)
1955 Michael O'Keefe Mount Vernon NY, actor (Caddyshack, Ironweed, Slugger's Wife)
1957 Tricia Lange Hollywood CA, playmate (June 1984)
1958 Fernando Luna Spain, tennis star
1959 Yvonne D Cagle West Point NY, MD/astronaut
1960 Paula Yates London England, Mrs Bob Geldof/rocker/writer (Blondes)
1963 Joey Vera heavy metal rocker (Armored Saint-Aftermath)
1963 Billy Gould Los Angeles CA, rock bassist (Faith No More)
1965 Mike Blowers Wurlzburg Germany, infielder (New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers)
1966 Margashayam Venkataramana cricketer (Indian off-spinner 1989)
1966 Pascale Paradis-Mangon France, tennis star
1966 Theo Adams WLAF tackle (Frankfurt Galaxy)
1967 Dino Radja NBA forward (Boston Celtics)
1967 Leslie M Marx Fort Belvoir VA, fencer-epee (Olympics-96)
1967 Pam[ela] Bustin Somerset MA, field hockey defender (Olympics-96)
1968 Aaron Comes rocker (Spin Doctors)
1968 Mark Vanderloo Waddenveen Netherlands, model
1968 Todd Jones Marietta GA, pitcher (Houston Astros)
1968 Tracy Gravely CFL linebacker (Montréal Alouettes)
1970 Damien Fleming Australian cricket pace bowler (hat-trick on Test debut)
1970 Emanuela Zardo Switzerland, tennis star
1971 Jeff Brohm quarterback (San Francisco 49ers)
1971 Ken Klee Indianapolis IN, NHL defenseman (Washington Capitals)
1971 Kumara Dharmasena cricketer (Sri Lankan off-spinner)
1971 Phil Rogers Adelaide SA Australia, 100 meter breaststroker (Olympics-bronze-92, 96)
1972 Chipper Jones Deland FL, infielder (Atlanta Braves)
1972 Jamie Brown NFL tackle (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32)
1972 Nicolas Gill Montréal Québec Canada, 86kg judoka (Olympics-bronze-92, 96)
1973 Eric Snow NBA guard (Philadelphia 76ers, Seattle Supersonics)
1973 Jamie Brown NFL tackle (Denver Broncos)
1973 Mark Babic Australian soccer defender (Olyroos, Olympics-96)
1973 Melissa Short Kaaawa HI, Miss Hawaii-America (Top 10-1997)
1973 Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar cricketer (prodigy at 16, Indian captain at 23)
1973 Ville Peltonen hockey forward (Team Finland Olympics-bronze-1998)
1974 Jared Tomich defensive end (New Orleans Saints)
1974 Marc Collins NFL punter (Seattle Seahawks)
1974 Toine Rorije soccer player (Go Ahead Eagles)
1975 Justin Boocock Launceston Australia, canoeist (Olympics-96)
1975 Michael Stewart NBA center (Sacramento Kings)
1976 Shane McDermott actor (Garrett Booth-Swan's Crossing)
1976 Sonya Jeyaseelan Newestminster British Columbia Canada, tennis star (1995 Futures Florida)
1977 Ryan Mitchell Port Augusta SA Australia, swimmer (Olympics-96)
1987 Michael [Mickey] Tylo son of US actor Michael Tylo/actress [Deborah] Hunter Tylo
1992 Sean Rademaker actor (Kirkland Harrison-Another World)
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Deaths which occurred on April 24:

0709 Wilfried bishop of York, dies at about 76
0729 Egbert[us] English bishop/saint, dies in Iona at 89
1077 Geza I King of Hungary (1074-7), dies
1185 Antoku Taira emperor of Japan (1180-85), drowns
1530 Jacopo Sannazaro Italian poet (De partu Virginis), dies
1617 Carlo Concino French marquis of Ancre/state advisor, murdered
1731 Daniel Defoe English novelist (Robinson Crusoe), dies
1758 Florian Wrastill composer, dies at 41
1776 Carolus van de Abeele Flemish Jesuit, dies at 84
1776 Giuseppi Paolucci composer, dies at 49
1824 Herman Muntinghe theologist (History of Mankind), dies at 71
1827 Pierre Joseph Candielle composer, dies at 82
1848 François van Campenhout Belgian composer (Brabançonne), dies at 69
1850 Louis Alexandre Piccinni composer, dies at 70
1855 Walenty Karol Kratzer composer, dies at 75
1875 Jose Maria de la Purificacion Ventura composer, dies at 58
1891 Count Helmuth K B von Moltke Prussian General/fieldmarshal, dies
1900 George J D Campbell British minister of Indies (1868-74, 80-85), dies at 76
1904 Friedrich Siemens German industrial, dies at 77
1912 Justin M'Carthy politician/novelist (Miss Misanthrope), dies at 81
1917 Oskar Blumenthal writer, dies
1922 Richard Batka composer, dies at 53
1924 George Street English cricket wicket keeper (1 Test 1923), dies
1928 Ferdinand B Hummel composer, dies at 72
1935 Paul Klengel composer, dies at 80
1936 Alphons Diepenbrock composer, dies at 73
1936 Bernard van Dieren composer, dies at 51
1939 John Foulds composer, dies at 58
1943 Gerardus H de Hare socialist vicar, dies at 63
1945 Anton de Kom Suriname resistance fighter, dies at 47
1945 Hubert Bath composer, dies at 61
1948 Joseph Wihtol composer, dies at 84
1948 Manuel Marua Ponce Mexican composer (Ferial), dies at 65
1948 Rosita Marstini actress (I Cover Waterfront, Big Parade), dies at 54
1952 Hans [Hendrik A] Kramers physicist (quantum mechanics), dies at 57
1952 Jules Poncelet Belgian minister of State, dies at 82
1955 Alfred Polgar Austrian writer/theater critic, dies at 79
1956 Albrecht G Alt German theologist (Small Schriften), dies at 72
1956 Henry Stephenson actor (Conquest, Mr Lucky), dies at 85
1957 Andries CD de Graeff Governor-General of Netherlands Indies (1926-31), dies at 84
1959 Jef van Hoof composer, dies at 72
1960 John P "John" Musch actor/founder (JM), dies at 84
1961 Lee Moran actor (Circus Clown), dies of heart ailment at 72
1965 Louise Dresser actress (State Fair, Ship Comes In, Mammy), dies at 86
1967 Frank Overton actor (12 O'Clock High), dies at 48
1967 Vladimir M Komarov cosmonaut (Voshkod I), is 1st to die in space, aboard Soyuz 1 at 40
1968 Norman McKaye actor (Untamed Fury, Frogman), dies at 62
1968 Tommy Noonan actor (Gentlemen Perfer Blondes), dies at 45
1974 Bud Abbott comedian (Abbott & Costello), dies at 78
1975 William Hartnell actor (Jackpot, This Sporting Life), dies at 67
1976 Mark Tobey US abstract painter, (Broadway Norm), dies at 85
1979 John Carroll actor (Hired Wife, Fiesta, Geraldine), dies at 72
1980 Alentejo Carpentier Cuban/Fren writer (Guerra del Tiempo), dies at 75
1985 Sergei Yutkevich Russian director, (Otello, Banya), dies at 80
1986 Wallis Warfield Simpson (Duchess of Windsor) dies
1986 Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson (Edward abdicated for her), dies at 89
1986 Bill Edrich cricketer (39 Tests for England), dies
1988 E S "Bob" Newson cricketer (South African fast bowler in 1930's), dies
1990 Joseph Leberman entertainer, dies
1990 Tom Rolfing actor (He Knows You're Alone, Cliff-Another World), dies
1991 J de Graaf ethicus/president church & peace, dies
1993 Oliver R Tambo chairman (African National Congress), dies at 75
1995 Douglas Gunsekera banker, dies at 77
1996 Donald Cammell film director, dies at 62
1996 Preston Lockwood actor (House of Windsor, Black Candle), dies at 83
1997 Pat Paulsen comedian (Smothers Brothers Show), dies at 69

1781 Battle of Petersburg begins

On the evening of April 24, 1781, British General William Phillips lands on the banks of the James River at City Port, Virginia. Once there, he combined forces with British General Benedict Arnold, the former American general and notorious traitor, to launch an attack on the town of Petersburg, Virginia, located about 12 miles away.

Defending the town of Petersburg from the approaching British troops was a contingent of 1,000 troops from the Virginia militia led by Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben. General von Steuben had set up defensive lines of resistance, but had no real hope of victory as the Americans were severely outnumbered by the British army of 2,500 troops. After several hours of fighting, von Steuben ordered a full-scale retreat of the Virginia militia as the city of Petersburg fell into British hands. Although Petersburg was lost, General von Steuben and the Virginia militia were able to resist the British force long enough for Patriot troops to assemble and set up defensive positions in nearby towns.

General Phillips had survived three years of captivity after being taken prisoner by the Americans at Saratoga in 1777 and marching with the so-called “Convention Army”--dubbed as such because the British and Americans signed a short-lived convention that the prisoners would be released to Europe if they agreed not to fight in North America again--700 miles from Saratoga, New York, to Charlottesville, Virginia, in November 1778 (after the revocation of the Convention of Saratoga). He was released in exchange for Patriot Major General Benjamin Lincoln in 1780. Despite such earlier fortitude, Phillips died of typhus on May 13 in Petersburg, less than a month after his victory.
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1862 Union Admiral David Farragut leads a flotilla

Union Admiral David Farragut leads a flotilla past two Confederate forts on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans. Moving at 2:00 a.m., Farragut lost one ship but successfully ran past the strongholds. He scattered some Confederate ships and sailed to New Orleans the next day, capturing one of the Confederacy's major cities with barely a shot fired.
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1863 General Orders No. 100 issued

The Union army issues General Orders No. 100, which provided a code of conduct for Federal soldiers and officers when dealing with Confederate prisoners and civilians. The code was borrowed by many European nations, and its influence can be seen on the Geneva Convention.

The orders were the brainchild of Francis Lieber, a Prussian immigrant whose three sons had served during the Civil War. One son was mortally wounded while fighting for the Confederacy at the Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1862. Lieber's other two sons fought for the Union. Lieber was a scholar of international law who took a keen interest in the treatment of combatants and civilians. He wrote many essays and newspaper articles on the subject early in the war, and he advised General Henry Halleck, general-in-chief of the Union armies, on how to treat guerilla fighters captured by Federal forces.

Halleck appointed a committee of four generals and Lieber to draft rules of combat for the Civil War. The final document consisted of 157 articles written almost entirely by Lieber. The orders established policies for, among other things, the treatment of prisoners, exchanges, and flags of truce. There was no document like it in the world at the time, and other countries soon adopted the code. It became the standard for international military law, and the Germans adopted it by 1870. Lieber's concepts are still very influential today.
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1916 The Easter Rising begins in Dublin

Around noon on Easter Monday of 1916, some 1,600 Irish nationalists--members of the Irish Volunteers--launch the so-called Easter Rising in Dublin, seizing a number of official buildings and calling on all Irish patriots to resist the bonds of British control.

Since the outbreak of World War I, the leading Irish nationalist, Sir Roger Casement, had pressed the German government to see the potential benefit of an Irish rebellion against British rule. Consequently, on April 2, the German merchant ship Aud was sent to the Atlantic coast of Ireland, loaded with some 20,000 rifles and 1 million rounds of ammunition bound for the hands of the Easter rebels. Before the Aud reached its destination, however, a British ship intercepted it, and the crew members of the Aud scuttled the ship with all its cargo. When Casement himself traveled from Germany to Tralee Bay, also on the Atlantic coast, three weeks later, he was put ashore by the Germans on an inflatable raft. He was subsequently arrested, tried and executed for treason by the British authorities.

Meanwhile, plans for the Easter Rising had gone ahead without Casement or German help. Due to last-minute uncertainty, however, one of its leaders canceled the orders for mobilization on the Saturday before the planned uprising—because of this only 1,600 of an expected 5,000 participants gathered at Liberty Hall on April 24 to march towards the center of Dublin. There, they seized the post office, several court buildings, St. Stephen’s Green and several other locations. From the steps of the post office, the rebels declared Ireland an independent republic, stating that “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible.”

Despite the rebels’ hopes, the public did not rise to support them, and they were quickly crushed by the police and government forces sent against them, among them some newly recruited troops bound for service in World War I. Sixty-four rebels were killed during the struggle, along with 134 troops and policeman, and at least 200 civilians were injured in the crossfire. Fifteen of the uprising’s leaders were eventually executed; a sixteenth, Eamon de Valera, was saved from a death sentence because he was an American citizen.

Even in its failure, the Easter Rising and the continued volatility of the so-called “Irish question” demonstrated the thwarted desires for self-determination that still bubbled beneath the surface in Great Britain, as in many countries in Europe, even as the larger matter of international warfare superseded them for the moment.
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1876 Erich Raeder, commander in chief of the German navy, is born on this day

On this day in 1876, Erich Raeder, proponent of an aggressive naval strategy and the man who convinced Adolf Hitler to invade Norway, is born.

Raeder began his career by violating the terms of the post-World War I Treaty of Versailles, advocating the construction of submarines in 1928 to strengthen the German navy. He was made grand admiral during World War II and executed the invasion of Norway and Denmark. He fell out with Hitler over strategy and was ultimately removed from his command. He would end his career before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Sentenced to life imprisonment for "instigation of the navy to violate the rules of war," he was released because of ill health in 1955.
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1940 Britain begins its evacuation of Greece in Operation Demon

On this day in 1940, British forces, along with Australian, New Zealand, and Polish troops, begin to withdraw from Greece in light of the Greek army's surrender to the Axis invaders. A total of 50,732 men are evacuated quickly over a six-day period, leaving behind weapons, trucks, and aircraft.
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1967 Westmoreland makes controversial remarks

At a news conference in Washington, Gen. William Westmoreland, senior U.S. commander in South Vietnam, causes controversy by saying that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily." Though he said that, "Ninety-five percent of the people were behind the United States effort in Vietnam," he asserted that the American soldiers in Vietnam were "dismayed, and so am I, by recent unpatriotic acts at home." This criticism of the antiwar movement was not received well by many in and out of the antiwar movement, who believed it was both their right and responsibility to speak out against the war.
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1971 North Vietnamese attack South Vietnamese installations

North Vietnamese troops hit Allied installations throughout South Vietnam. In the most devastating attack, the ammunition depot at Qui Nhon was blown up. On April 27, the aviation fuel tanks at Da Nang air base were attacked by communist gunners, resulting in explosions and a fire that destroyed a large proportion of the fuel stored there. In the following three days, 54 South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were reported killed, and 185 wounded. The United States reported seven dead and 60 wounded.