In 1861, three days after the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina, President Abraham Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called out Union troops.
In 1865, President Abraham 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. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles resigned for health reasons. (He was succeeded by Christian A. Herter).
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. Students in Beijing launched a series of pro-democracy protests; the demonstrations culminated in a government crackdown at Tiananmen Square.
In 1998, Pol Pot, the notorious leader of the Khmer Rouge, died at age 73, evading prosecution for the deaths of 2 million Cambodians.
Ten years ago: A gunman opened fire at the Mormon Family History Library in Salt Lake City, killing two people and wounding four others before being shot to death by police.
Five years ago: In a videotape, a man identifying himself as Osama bin Laden offered a "truce" to European countries that did not attack Muslims, saying it would begin when their soldiers left Islamic nations. Iraqi militants freed three Japanese hostages after holding them about a week. In the finale to the first edition of the NBC reality show "The Apprentice," Donald Trump "hired" Bill Rancic over Kwame Jackson during a segment that was telecast live.
One year ago: Pope Benedict XVI stepped onto U.S. soil for the first time as pontiff as he was greeted at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington by President George W. Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna. Bombings blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq tore through market areas in Baghdad and outside the capital, killing nearly 60 people. Actress Hazel Court, who'd costarred with Boris Karloff and Vincent Price in horror movies of the 1950s and '60s, died near Lake Tahoe, Calif., at age 82.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Michael Ansara is 87. Country singer Roy Clark is 76. Rock singer-guitarist Dave Edmunds is 65. Actress Lois Chiles is 62. Writer-producer Linda Bloodworth-Thomason is 62. Actress Amy Wright is 59. Columnist Heloise is 58. Actress-screenwriter Emma Thompson is 50. Bluegrass musician Jeff Parker is 48. Singer Samantha Fox is 43. Rock musician Ed O'Brien (Radiohead) is 41.
Today In Entertainment History April 15 -- In 1966, the Rolling Stones album "Aftermath" was released in Britain. It was the first Stones album to contain all original material, and it featured songs like "Under My Thumb" and "Mother's Little Helper."
In 1967, The Who released the single "Happy Jack."
In 1971, "Patton" won the best picture and best director Academy Awards. Its star, George C. Scott, was named best actor, but he didn't accept the award because he didn't like the academy's voting process.
In 1977, Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd presented Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson with a gold record for the album "One More For The Road." It had been recorded in Atlanta.
In 1982, Billy Joel was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident on Long Island, New York. He spent about a month in the hospital. In 1990, actress Greta Garbo died in New York at the age of 84. Among her movie credits are "Grand Hotel" and "Camille."
In 1996, the rest of Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia's ashes were scattered near the Golden Gate in San Francisco. A small portion had been scattered in the Ganges River in India eleven days earlier.
In 2001, singer Joey Ramone of The Ramones died in New York after battling lymphoma. He was 49.
In 2004, Bill Rancic beat out Kwame Jackson to win the first season of "The Apprentice" on NBC.
In 2007, Richard Gere spontaneously kissed Indian actress Shilpa Shetty during an AIDS awareness rally. A judge in India issued an arrest warrant for Gere, claiming the kiss amounted to public obscenity.
Thought for Today: "History would be an excellent thing if only it were true." — Leo Tolstoy, Russian author (1828-1910). [That certainly sums up this feature. — Ed.]
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