Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Wednesday, April 20

This Day In History

  • 1792   France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary wars.
  • 1812   George Clinton died in Washington at age 73, becoming the first vice president to die while in office.
  • 1836   The Territory of Wisconsin was established by Congress.
  • 1865   Safety matches were first advertised this day.
  • 1889   Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.
  • 1902   Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.
  • 1940   RCA publicly demonstrated its new electron microscope.
  • 1945   Allied forces took control of the German cities of Nuremberg and Stuttgart during World War II.
  • 1968   Pierre Elliott Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister of Canada.
  • 1971 The United States Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.
  • 1972   The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
  • 1979   Johnny Carson was said to be leaving "The Tonight Show". Newspapers around the country gave details about why the comedian and late-night host was said to be unhappy after 17 years on the show. Guess what? More moola, more vacation time and a four-day week (not working Mondays) was enough for the ?Great Carsoni? to hang around NBC for another 12 years...
  • 1980   The first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida.
  • 1999   Two students went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., killing 12 students and one teacher before taking their own lives.
Happy Birthday To
  • 1889   Adolf Hitler (murderer of over six-million people, the ultimate racist and as TIME magazine said, ?...redefined the meaning of evil forever.?; committed suicide Apr 30, 1945)
  • 1908   Lionel Hampton (singer, songwriter, jazz musician: vibes, drums, piano, bandleader: On the Sunny Side of the Street, Hey! Hot Mallets, Ba-Ba-Re-Bop, Rag Mop; played with Benny Goodman; died Aug 31, 2002)
  • 1940   George Takei (actor: Star Trek, Kissinger and Nixon, Oblivion, Star Trek 1-6, The Green Berets, Red Line 7000, Ice Palace)
  • 1941   Ryan O'Neal (actor: Love Story, Paper Moon, What?s Up Doc?, Peyton Place)

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