Today in History (09 April 2008)

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Events

• 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans).
• 475 - Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite christological position.
• 1241 - Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeats the Polish and German armies.
• 1413 - Henry V is crowned King of England.
• 1440 - Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.
• 1682 - Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.
• 1865 - American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, effectively ending the war.
• 1867 - Alaska purchase: Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska.
• 1909 - The U.S. Congress passes the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act.
• 1916 - World War I: Battle of Verdun - German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.
• 1917 - World War I: Battle of Arras - The battle begins with Canadian forces executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
• 1937 - The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London - it is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
• 1939 - Marian Anderson sings at the Lincoln Memorial, after being denied the right to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall.
• 1940 - World War II: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
• 1942 - World War II: Battle of Bataan/Bataan Death March - United States forces surrender on the Bataan Peninsula. Japanese Navy launches air raid on Trincomalee in Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and Royal Australian Navy Destroyer HMAS Vampire are sunk off the island's east coast.
• 1945 - World War II: The German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer is sunk.
• 1945 - World War II: Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.
• 1945 - The United States Atomic Energy Commission formed
• 1947 - The Glazier-Higgins-Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
• 1947 - The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court's 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
• 1948 - Jorge Eliécer Gaitán's assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in all of Colombia (La violencia).
• 1948 - Massacre at Deir Yassin.
• 1953 - Warner Brothers premieres the first 3-D film, entitled House of Wax
• 1957 - The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping
• 1959 - Mercury program: NASA announces the selection of the United States' first seven astronauts, which the news media quickly dub the "Mercury Seven".
• 1967 - The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) takes its maiden flight.
• 1969 - The "Chicago Eight" plead not guilty on federal charges of conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
• 1975 - The first game of the Philippine Basketball Association, the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
• 1991 - Georgia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1992 - US Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty on drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
• 1992 - John Major's Conservative Party wins an unprecedented fourth general election victory in the United Kingdom.
• 1999 - Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, President of Niger, is assassinated.
• 2003 - 2003 invasion of Iraq: Baghdad, Iraq falls to American forces.
• 2005 - HRH Charles, Prince of Wales weds Camilla Parker Bowles.
  
  
  Births
• 1978 - Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
• 1978 - Rachel Stevens, English singer (S Club)
• 1978 - Vesna Pisarović, Croatian singer
• 1979 - Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
• 1979 - Albert Hammond, Jr., American guitarist (The Strokes)
• 1979 - Keith Nobbs, American actor
• 1980 - Yoanna House, American model
• 1980 - Jerko Leko, Croatian footballer
• 1981 - Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player
• 1981 - Eric Harris, Columbine High School shooter (d. 1999)
• 1981 - Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
• 1981 - Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player
• 1982 - Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
• 1984 - Linda Chung, Hong Kong actress and singer
• 1984 - Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player
• 1985 - Yamashita Tomohisa, Japanese singer (NEWS (band))
• 1986 - Brian Larsen, American musician and record producer
• 1986 - Leighton Meester, American actress
• 1987 - Jesse McCartney, American actor and singer
• 1987 - Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1987 - Danny Guthrie, British footballer
• 1990 - Kristen Stewart, American actress
  
  Deaths
• 1963 - Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist (b. 1891)
• 1970 - Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish illustrator (b. 1896)
• 1976 - Dagmar Nordstrom, American composer, pianist (b. 1903)
• 1976 - Phil Ochs, American singer (b. 1940)
• 1978 - Clough Williams-Ellis, Welsh architect (b.1883)
• 1982 - Wilfrid Pelletier, French Canadian conductor (b. 1896)
• 1988 - Brook Benton, American singer (b. 1931)
• 1988 - David Prater, American singer (Sam & Dave) (b. 1937)
• 1991 - Martin Hannett, record producer (b. 1948)
• 1996 - Richard Condon, American novelist (b. 1915)
• 1996 - James W. Rouse, American real estate developer, activist, and philanthropist (b. 1914)
• 1997 - Helene Hanff, American writer (b. 1916)
• 1997 - Mae Boren Axton, American singer and songwriter (b. 1914)
• 1998 - Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (b. 1953)
• 1999 - Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Niger politician and general (b. 1949)
• 2001 - Willie Stargell, American baseball player (b. 1940)
• 2002 - Leopold Vietoris, Austrian mathematician (b. 1891)
• 2002 - Pat Flaherty, American racecar driver (b. 1926)
• 2006 - Billy Hitch****, American baseball player, coach, and official (b. 1916)
• 2006 - Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish writer and film director (b. 1924)
• 2007 - Egon Bondy, Czech philosopher and writer (b. 1930)