On April 14, 1910, President William Howard Taft became the first U.S. chief executive to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game as the Washington Senators opened their season with a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics.
On this date:
In 1759, composer George Frideric Handel died in London at age 74.
In 1775, the first American society for the abolition of slavery was organized by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush in Philadelphia.
In 1828, the first edition of Noah Webster’s “American Dictionary of the English Language” was published.
In 1861, the flag of the Confederacy was raised over Fort Sumter, S.C., as Union troops there surrendered in the early days of the Civil War.
In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth during a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater in Washington.
In 1909, Armenians in Adana Province in the Ottoman Empire became targets of violence during an uprising by counterrevolutionaries seeking to restore Sultan Abdul Hamid II to power; the number of Armenians killed has been put at up to 30,000.
In 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and began sinking.
In 1927, the first Volvo was produced in Sweden.
In 1931, King Alfonso XIII of Spain went into exile and the Spanish Republic was proclaimed.
In 1939, the John Steinbeck novel “The Grapes of Wrath” was first published.
In 1949, at the conclusion of the so-called “Wilhelmstrasse Trial,” 19 former Nazi Foreign Office officials were sentenced by an American tribunal in Nuremberg to prison terms ranging from four to 25 years.
In 1960, the Montreal Canadiens won their fifth consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 in Game 4 of the finals.
In 1986, U.S. warplanes struck Libya in the biggest U.S. airstrike since the Vietnam War. Libya claimed 40 people were killed.
In 1989, former winery worker Ramon Salcido went on a rampage in Sonoma County, Calif., killing seven people, including his wife and two daughters; he is currently on death row.
In 1991, 20 major paintings by Van Gogh were stolen from an Amsterdam museum by two gunmen. The paintings were found abandoned 35 minutes later.
In 1992, a federal appeals court in New York ruled that hotel magnate Leona Helmsley, 71, must go to prison for tax evasion.
In 1993, 12 top former Communist officials went on trial charged with treason in the August 1991 coup attempt that hastened the fall of the Soviet Union. Also in 1993, violence raged throughout South Africa as hundreds of thousands protested the slaying of popular Communist Party Chief Chris Hani.
In 1994, executives representing seven major tobacco companies told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that they didn't believe cigarettes were addictive. Also in 1994, in what was called a tragic mistake, two U.S. warplanes shot down two U.S. Army helicopters in northern Iraq's "no fly" zone. All 26 people aboard, including 15 Americans, were killed.
In 1997, Whitewater figure James McDougal drew a three-year prison sentence for 18 felony fraud and conspiracy counts.
In 1999, Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr told Congress the Watergate-era law that gave him the power to probe actions of executive branch officials was flawed and should be abolished. NATO mistakenly bombed a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees; Yugoslav officials said 75 people were killed. British entertainer Anthony Newley died in Jensen Beach, Fla., at age 67.
In 2000, stocks plummeted in heavy trading, with the Dow industrials down 617 points and the Nasdaq composite index falling 355 points. In Washington, protesters dumped manure on Pennsylvania Avenue, seeking to disrupt meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
In 2002, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned to office two days after being ousted and arrested by his country's military. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in an unsuccessful effort to ease tensions with Israel and stop a wave of suicide bombings. Tiger Woods became only the third golfer in history to win back-to-back Masters titles.
In 2003, U.S. commandos in Baghdad captured Abul Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner Achille Lauro in 1985. U.S. military officials declared that the principal fighting in Iraq was over after Marines captured Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home town. Also in 2003, as looting became widespread in Iraq, U.S. Marines and Iraqi policemen began joint security patrols in Baghdad.
In 2004, in a historic policy shift, President George W. Bush endorsed Israel's plan to hold on to part of the West Bank in any final peace settlement with the Palestinians; he also ruled out Palestinian refugees returning to Israel, bringing strong criticism from the Palestinians.
In 2005, the House passed and sent to President George W. Bush legislation making it tougher to erase obligations in bankruptcy. Several indictments were handed down in the U.N. oil-for-food program. A U.S. oil trader was charged with making kickbacks to Iraqis to win contracts. Also in 2005, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration began enforcing a ban on all types of lighters on planes and in the secure areas of airports. And, a wave of violence in several parts of Iraq killed about 30 people over the next three days, focusing mostly on police officers. The Oregon Supreme Court nullified nearly 3,000 marriage licenses issued to gay couples a year earlier by Portland’s Multnomah County. Yankees right fielder Gary Sheffield got into a brief scuffle with a fan at Fenway Park during New York’s 8-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox.
In 2007, 32 people died when a bus carrying elementary school students collided with a truck on a highway in Turkey.
In 2008, Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp., announced they were combining. Kidnapped British journalist Richard Butler was rescued by Iraqi troops from a house in Basra after two months in captivity. Media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi won a decisive victory in Italy's parliamentary election. Carme Chacon was sworn into office as Spain's first woman defense minister.
The UPI gushes: Also in 2008, Silvio Berlusconi, a staunch U.S. ally, swept back into power in a third term as prime minister of Italy in a new election that gave him control of both houses of Parliament.
In 2009, Somali pirates seized four ships with 60 hostages. North Korea said it was restarting its rogue nuclear program, booting U.N. inspectors and pulling out of disarmament talks in an angry reaction to the U.N. Security Council’s condemnation of its April 5 rocket launch. The United States lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans visiting relatives in Cuba. The trade embargo and travel restrictions for non-Cuban Americans were left intact. Also in 2009, North Korea said it would restart its Yongbyon nuclear facility and boycott talks aimed at halting the nation's nuclear weapons program. And, 21 people were killed and 20 others were hurt when fire swept through a hostel for the homeless in northwest Poland.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Bradford Dillman is 80. Actor Jay Robinson is 80. Country singer Loretta Lynn is 75. Actress Julie Christie is 70. Former MLB All-Star Pete Rose is 69. Rock musician Ritchie Blackmore is 65. Actor John Shea is 61. Actor-race car driver Brian Forster is 50. Actor Brad Garrett is 50. Actor Robert Carlyle is 49. Rock singer-musician John Bell (Widespread Panic) is 48. Actor Robert Clendenin is 46. Actor Lloyd Owen is 44. Former MLB All-Star Greg Maddux is 44. Rock musician Barrett Martin is 43. Actor Anthony Michael Hall is 42. Actor Adrien Brody is 37. Classical singer David Miller is 37. Rapper DaBrat is 36. Actor Antwon Tanner is 35. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is 33. Actor-producer Rob McElhenney is 33.
Etc.:
Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens, founder of the wave theory of light (1629); Anne Sullivan, the "miracle worker" who taught blind and deaf Helen Keller (1866); English historian Arnold Toynbee (1889); British actor John Gielgud (1904); Haitian dictator Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier (1907) & actor Rod Steiger (1925).
14 April In Entertainment
In 1904, actor John Gielgud was born in London.
In 1939, the movie "Wuthering Heights," starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier, premiered in New York.
In 1956, Ampex Corp. demonstrated the first successful videotape recorder at the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters Convention in Chicago.
In 1958, "Catch A Falling Star" by Perry Como became the first single certified as gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
In 1960, the musical “Bye Bye Birdie” opened on Broadway. Tamla Records and Motown Records, founded by Berry Gordy Jr., were incorporated as Motown Record Corp.
In 1962, Bob Dylan recorded seven songs, including "Blowin' In The Wind," at Columbia Records studios in New York.
In 1968, the Matt Crowley play "The Boys in the Band" opened in New York.
In 1969, "Oliver!" was named best picture at the Academy Awards.
In 1974, Pete Townshend appeared for the first time as a solo act at a concert in London, accompanied only by homemade tapes.
In 1976, Motown Records announced a $13 million contract renewal for Stevie Wonder. At the time, it was the largest contract ever negotiated. Also in 1976, Eric Faulkner of the Bay City Rollers nearly died after swallowing Seconal and Valium at his manager's house in Scotland.
In 1980, "Kramer vs. Kramer" won the best picture and director Academy Awards, plus the best actor award for Dustin Hoffman. Meryl Streep, who also appeared in that movie, was named best supporting actress. Sally Field won the best actress award for "Norma Rae." Also in 1980, musician Gary Numan released "The Touring Principle," a 45-minute concert video. It was the first commercially available home rock videocassette.
In 1983, Pete Farndon, formerly of The Pretenders, died of a drug overdose. He had been fired from the band the year before.
In 1995, actor-singer Burl Ives died at his home in Anacortes, Washington. He was 85.
In 1997, comedian Ellen DeGeneres revealed she was a lesbian in an interview with Time magazine.
In 1999, British entertainer Anthony Newley died in Jensen Beach, Fla., at age 67.
In 2007, singer Don Ho died in Honolulu, Hawaii, at age 76.
In 2008, Taylor Swift won video of the year and female video for her smash "Our Song" while newcomer Kellie Pickler took home three awards during the Country Music Television awards.
Thought for Today: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.” — Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865.
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