Post by MacBeth on Apr 13, 2009 5:56:59 GMT -5
In 1598, King Henry IV of France endorsed the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to the Protestant Huguenots. (The edict was abrogated in 1685 by King Louis XIV, who declared France entirely Catholic again.)
In 1742, Handel's "Messiah" was first performed publicly in Dublin, Ireland.
In 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York. (The original museum opened in 1872.)
In 1919, British troops fire on a crowd of Indians peacefully protesting the occupation, leaving 379 dead and 1,200 wounded.
In 1954, Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves.
In 1958, American pianist Van Cliburn, 23, won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for "Lilies of the Field."
In 1970, 56 hours and 205,000 miles from planet Earth, the crew aboard Apollo 13 hears "a pretty loud bang" when oxygen tank number two spontaneously explodes. Astronaut Jack Swigert informs Mission Control in Houston: "Hey, we've got a problem here." Miraculously, the crew manages to return home in their crippled spacecraft.
In 1981, Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke wins a Pulitzer Prize for her story about Jimmy, an 8 year old heroin addict. Strangely, police could find no trace of this boy. And this was one of those investigative journalism Pulitzers, not a fiction Pulitzer, so she was forced to return the award two days later. Cooke later clerked part-time at a department store cosmetics counter in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in the first recorded papal visit of its kind to a Jewish house of worship.
In 1990, the Soviet Union accepted responsibility for the World War II murders of thousands of imprisoned Polish officers in the Katyn Forest, a massacre the Soviets had previously blamed on the Nazis.
In 1992, Chicago's downtown business center is crippled by massive flooding, as 124 million gallons of water inundate 50 miles of underground freight tunnels and adjoining basements. City workers dump sandbags, rocks, and mattresses into the Chicago River in a vain attempt to slow the floodwaters. All told, it will take 12 days to seal the leak and drain the tunnels. The disaster causes $800 million in damage, and the IRS graciously grants one week of amnesty for Chicago-area residents to file their tax returns.
In 1999, Right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder in the lethal injection of a Lou Gehrig's disease patient. (Kevorkian ended up serving eight years.)
In 2002, Venezuela's interim president, Pedro Carmona, resigned a day after taking office in the face of protests by thousands of supporters of the ousted president, Hugo Chavez.
In 2004, conceding a couple of "tough weeks in Iraq," President George W. Bush signaled he was ready to put more American troops on the front lines and use decisive force if necessary to restore order despite "gut-wrenching" televised images of fallen Americans.
In 2005, Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and three other attacks.
In 2008, World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged immediate action to deal with mounting food prices that had caused hunger and deadly violence in several countries. Trevor Immelman won the Masters, becoming the first South African to wear a green jacket in 30 years. A construction worker's bid to curse the New York Yankees by planting a Boston Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot.
In 1742, Handel's "Messiah" was first performed publicly in Dublin, Ireland.
In 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York. (The original museum opened in 1872.)
In 1919, British troops fire on a crowd of Indians peacefully protesting the occupation, leaving 379 dead and 1,200 wounded.
In 1954, Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves.
In 1958, American pianist Van Cliburn, 23, won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for "Lilies of the Field."
In 1970, 56 hours and 205,000 miles from planet Earth, the crew aboard Apollo 13 hears "a pretty loud bang" when oxygen tank number two spontaneously explodes. Astronaut Jack Swigert informs Mission Control in Houston: "Hey, we've got a problem here." Miraculously, the crew manages to return home in their crippled spacecraft.
In 1981, Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke wins a Pulitzer Prize for her story about Jimmy, an 8 year old heroin addict. Strangely, police could find no trace of this boy. And this was one of those investigative journalism Pulitzers, not a fiction Pulitzer, so she was forced to return the award two days later. Cooke later clerked part-time at a department store cosmetics counter in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in the first recorded papal visit of its kind to a Jewish house of worship.
In 1990, the Soviet Union accepted responsibility for the World War II murders of thousands of imprisoned Polish officers in the Katyn Forest, a massacre the Soviets had previously blamed on the Nazis.
In 1992, Chicago's downtown business center is crippled by massive flooding, as 124 million gallons of water inundate 50 miles of underground freight tunnels and adjoining basements. City workers dump sandbags, rocks, and mattresses into the Chicago River in a vain attempt to slow the floodwaters. All told, it will take 12 days to seal the leak and drain the tunnels. The disaster causes $800 million in damage, and the IRS graciously grants one week of amnesty for Chicago-area residents to file their tax returns.
In 1999, Right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder in the lethal injection of a Lou Gehrig's disease patient. (Kevorkian ended up serving eight years.)
In 2002, Venezuela's interim president, Pedro Carmona, resigned a day after taking office in the face of protests by thousands of supporters of the ousted president, Hugo Chavez.
In 2004, conceding a couple of "tough weeks in Iraq," President George W. Bush signaled he was ready to put more American troops on the front lines and use decisive force if necessary to restore order despite "gut-wrenching" televised images of fallen Americans.
In 2005, Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and three other attacks.
In 2008, World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged immediate action to deal with mounting food prices that had caused hunger and deadly violence in several countries. Trevor Immelman won the Masters, becoming the first South African to wear a green jacket in 30 years. A construction worker's bid to curse the New York Yankees by planting a Boston Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot.