Today in History

Today is Tuesday, April 15th, the 106th day of 2008. There are 260 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: In the early hours of April 15th, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland, less than three hours after striking an iceberg. Some 1,500 people died.

On this date: In 1817, the first American school for the deaf opened in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1850, the city of San Francisco was incorporated.

In 1861, three days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called out Union troops.

In 1865, President Lincoln died, several hours after being shot at Ford's Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson became the nation's 17th president.

In 1945, during World War II, British and Canadian troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson, baseball's first black major league player, made his official debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day. (The Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves, 5-3.) In 1959, Cuban leader Fidel Castro arrived in Washington to begin a goodwill tour of the United States.

In 1986, the United States launched an air raid against Libya in response to the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin on April 5th; Libya said 37 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

In 1989, 96 people died in a crush of Soccer fans at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England.

In 1990, actress Greta Garbo died in New York at age 84.

Ten years ago: Pol Pot, the notorious leader of the Khmer Rouge, died at age 73, evading prosecution for the deaths of 2 million Cambodians.

Five years ago: Looters and arsonists ransacked Iraq's National Library, as well as Iraq's principal Islamic library. In the Netherlands, Volkert van der Graaf, the killer of politician Pim Fortuyn, was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Umpire Laz Diaz was attacked by a fan during a game between the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox; the fan, Eric Dybas, was later sentenced to six months in jail and 30 months' probation.

One year ago: Riot police beat and detained dozens of anti-Kremlin demonstrators in St. Petersburg, Russia, on a second day of protests against the government of President Vladimir Putin.

Brant Parker, who illustrated "The Wizard of Id" comic strip, died in Lynchburg, Virginia, at age 86, just days after the passing of the strip's writer, Johnny Hart.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Michael Ansara is 86. Country singer Roy Clark is 75. Rock singer-guitarist Dave Edmunds is 64. Actress Lois Chiles is 61. Writer-producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason is 61.

Actress Amy Wright is 58. Columnist Heloise is 57.

Actress-screenwriter Emma Thompson is 49. Singer Samantha Fox is 42. Rock musician Ed O'Brien (Radiohead) is 40. Actor Flex Alexander is 38. Actor Danny Pino is 34. Actor-writer Seth Rogen is 26. Actress Alice Braga is 25. Actress Emma Watson is 18.

Thought for Today: "Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." Bernard Shaw, Irish-born playwright (1856-1950).

(Above Advance for Use Tuesday, April 15th)


Copyright 2008, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 04-06-08 0847CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list