Today in History for 12th April 2020

Historical Events

1654 – Ordinance of Union between England and Scotland passed by the Council of State
1907 – Belgium government of De Stain de Naeyer resigns
1946 – LPGA Titleholders Championship Women’s Golf, Augusta CC: Louise Suggs wins her first major title by 2 strokes from Eileen Stulb
1957 – USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
1959 – France Observator reports torture practice by French army in Algeria
2016 – Breakthrough Starshot: Scientists and internet entrepreneurs, including Yuri Milner, Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerberg, announce interstellar project to send robot spacecraft to Alpha Centauri

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Famous Birthdays

1838 – John Shaw Billings, American librarian and surgeon, born in Allensville, Switzerland County, Indiana (d. 1913)
1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician (Proving π is a transcendental number), born in Hannover, German Confederation (d. 1939)
1939 – Alan Ayckbourn, English playwright and director, born in London, England
1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer (Mensch, Spruenge), born in Göttingen, Germany
1956 – Doris Baaten, Dutch actress (Sesame Street, Fien), born in Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
1964 – Amy Ray, American singer and songwriter (Indigo Girls), born in Decatur, Georgia

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Famous Deaths

1687 – Ambrose Dixon, Virginia Colony pioneer
1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Roman catholic archbishop of Quebec (b. 1820)
1942 – Johannes E Akkeringa, Dutch painter/etcher, dies at 80
1961 – Philippine “Pine” Belder, [Mary de Klerk], actress, dies at 93
1972 – C W Ceram, [Kurt Marek], German/American writer (1st American), dies at 57
2013 – Michael France, American screenwriter, dies from complications from diabetes at 51

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Famous Deaths for 11th April 2020

1854 – Karl Adolph von Basedow, German artist (Ziekte van Basedow), dies at 55
1908 – Henry Bird, English Chess player and author (b. 1829)
1991 – Walker Cooper, American baseball catcher (MLB All-Star 1942–44, 46–50; World Series 1942, 44; St. Louis Cardinals), dies at 76
1991 – Tom Rosqui, dies at 62
1996 – Daniel Wolf, American journalist, dies at 80
1996 – Louis Osman, artist/goldsmith/craftsman, dies at 82
1996 – Edwin Clarke, historian/neurologist, dies at 76
2003 – Cecil Howard Green, British geophysicist and businessman (b. 1900)
2018 – Mitzi Shore [Lillian Saidel], American owner of The Comedy Store and founder of The Comedy Channel, dies at 87
2019 – Frances Swem Anderson, American technologist (nuclear medicine), dies at 105

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Historical Events for 11th April 2020

1750 – Jack Slack retains Champion of England boxing title, beats Frenchman Jean Petit in 7 rounds in Harlston, England; acknowledged as first international prize fight
1924 – 1st men’s college swimming championships begin
1941 – Germany blitzes Coventry, England
1956 – Singer Nat Cole attacked on stage of Birmingham theater in racial incident
1961 – Bob Dylan makes his 1st appearance at Folk City, Greenwich Village
1972 – Benjamin L Hooks named to FCC
1984 – Chinese troops invade Vietnam
1990 – Angels Mark Langston and Mike Witt, no-hit Seattle, 1-0
2004 – 68th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Phil Mickelson claims his first major title with a birdie on the final hole to win by 1 stroke over Ernie Els of South Africa
2016 – UN-backed ceasefire comes into effect in Yemen conflict between Iranian-backed Houthis rebels and government forces

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Today in History for 11th April 2020

Historical Events

1079 – Bishop Stanislaus of Krakow is executed by order of Bolesław II of Poland
1895 – Anaheim completes its new electric light system
1941 – Germany blitzes Coventry, England
1961 – Austrian 4th and last government of Raab resigns
1963 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1993 – 450 prisoners riot at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and continue for ten days, citing grievances about prison conditions and the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis)

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Famous Birthdays

1916 – Dan Fortmann, American football guard (Chicago Bears), born in Pearl River, New York (d. 1995)
1927 – Domenico Guaccero, Italian composer, born in Palo de Colle, Italy (d. 1984)
1951 – Robbie House, American rocker (Snuff)
1966 – Lisa Stansfield, English pop singer (Around the World), born in Manchester, England
1966 – Mark Higgs, American football running back (Arizona Cardinals), born in Owensboro, Kentucky
1973 – Reggie Tongue, American football safety (KC Chiefs), born in Baltimore, Maryland

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Famous Deaths

1034 – Romanus III Argyrus, Byzantine emperor (1028-34), assassinated by wife at 66 or 67
1853 – Louis Emmanuel Jadin, French composer, dies at 124
1908 – Henry Bird, English Chess player and author (b. 1829)
1967 – Donald Sangster, Jamaican prime-minister (b. 1911)
2006 – Proof, American rapper (D12) (b. 1973)
2019 – Monkey Punch [Kazuhiko Kato], Japanese manga cartoonist (Lupin III), dies of pneumonia at 81

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Famous Deaths for 10th April 2020

947 – Hugo van Arles, count of Arles/king of Italy, dies
1712 – Yusuf Nabi, Turkish poet (Hayriye), dies at about 77
1823 – Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher (elementary philosophy), dies at 65
1862 – William Harvey Lamb Wallace, American lawyer and Brigadier General, dies at 40
1939 – Alfredo Panzini, Italian author (Il Bacio de Lesba), dies at 75
1945 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch artist (The Blue Barge) and resistance fighter, executed at 63
1954 – Auguste Lumière, French photograph and movie pioneer, dies at 81
1955 – Oskar Frederik Lindberg, composer, dies at 68
1968 – Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (b. 1899)
2011 – Homer Smith, American football coach (b. 1931)

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Historical Events for 10th April 2020

1407 – Lama Deshin Shekpa visits the Ming Dynasty capital at Nanjing and is awarded the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma
1516 – 1st Jewish ghetto established: Venice compels Jews to live in a specific area
1710 – The first law regulating copyright is issued in Great Britain
1816 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge recites his poem “Kubla Khan” to fellow poet Lord Byron, who persuades him to publish it
1925 – Tsaritsyn re-named Stalingrad (now Volgograd)
1954 – KRGV TV channel 5 in Weslaco, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
1968 – Ferry Wahine sinks in Wellington harbour, New Zealand on route from Lyttelton (51 killed)
1974 – Magicians Penn and Teller 1st meet
1986 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
2005 – At 16 years, 271 days James Vaughan scores for Everton in a 4-0 win against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park; becomes youngest goalscorer in EPL history

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Today in History for 10th April 2020

Historical Events

1845 – More than 1,000 buildings damaged by fire in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1874 – British Open Men’s Golf, Musselburgh Links: Mungo Park wins first title by 2 strokes from Tom Morris Jr
1944 – “Patrolling the Ether” is shown on 3 TV stations simultaneously
1953 – “House of Wax” 1st color 3-D movie, premieres in New York
1968 – “George M!” opens at Palace Theater NYC for 435 performances
2019 – New species of human announced named Homo luzonensis, 3ft tall, remains dated 50-60,000 years old found in cave on island of Luzon, Philippines

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Famous Birthdays

1704 – Benjamin Heath, English classical scholar, born in Exeter, Devon, England (d. 1766)
1880 – Frances Perkins, American politician and 1st woman to hold cabinet-level position (Labor 1933-45), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1965)
1916 – Alfie Bass [Abraham Basalinsky], British actor (Moonraker, Are You Being Served), born in London, England (d. 1987)
1936 – Michael Naylor, English insurance broker (Endsleigh Insurance), born in Croydon (d. 1995)
1980 – Sean Avery, Canadian ice hockey player, born in North York, Ontario, Canada
1983 – Ryan Merriman, American actor (The Ring Two), born in Choctaw, Oklahoma

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Famous Deaths

1825 – Paul-Louis Courier, (Mere), French writer/interpreter, dies at 53
1961 – Irene Warfield, silent screen actress (Satan Sanderson), dies at 65
1995 – Gunter Guillaume, German politician, dies
2007 – Dakota Staton, American jazz singer, dies at 76
2010 – Maria Kaczyńska, Polish economist and First Lady of Poland, is killed in the crash of a Polish Air Force Tu-154 at 67
2013 – Jimmy Dawkins, American electric blues musician, dies at 76

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Famous Deaths for 9th April 2020

1024 – Benedict VIII, [Theophylactus van Tusculum], Pope (1012-24), dies
1889 – Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist (b. 1786)
1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (b. 1903)
1959 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (Guggenheim) recognized as “the greatest American architect of all time”, dies at 89
1991 – Maurice Binder, American photographer and film title designer (James Bond Movies), dies at 73
2005 – Jerrel Wilson, American NFL punter (Pro Bowl 1970-72; Super Bowl 1970; KC Chiefs), dies of cancer at 63
2010 – Zoltán Varga, Hungarian Footballer (b. 1945)
2013 – David Hayes, American sculptor, dies from leukemia at 82
2014 – Bertha Tickey, American softball pitcher (Hall of Fame 1973), dies at 91
2019 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer, co-founder LPGA (Titleholders Championship 1963-64), dies at 89

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Historical Events for 9th April 2020

1440 – Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark (1440-48)
1948 – Massacre at Deir Yassin.
1950 – Bob Hope’s 1st TV appearance
1950 – 14th US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Jimmy Demaret becomes the first 3-time Masters champion by 2 strokes ahead of Australian Jim Ferrier
1957 – Howard Hanson’s “Song of Democracy” premieres in Washington, D.C.
1965 – 1st game at Astrodome, Houston beats Yankees 2-1 in exhibition as Mickey Mantle hits 1st indoor homerun
1968 – Ralph Aberbathy elected to head So Christian Leadership Conference
1978 – 42nd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: 42 year old Gary Player shoots a record-tying final round 64 (−8) to win by 1 stroke from Rod Funseth, Tom Watson and Hubert Green
1980 – Soyuz 35 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6
2013 – 37 people are killed and 850 are injured after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Iran

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Today in History for 9th April 2020

Historical Events

1691 – French troops occupy Mons
1783 – Tippu Sahib drives out British from Bednore, India
1914 – Tampico incident – US ship crew arrested in Mexico
1941 – PGA establishes Golf Hall of Fame
2013 – 37 people are killed and 850 are injured after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Iran
2019 – Wolves have returned to the Netherlands after 140 years claim ecologists

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Famous Birthdays

1865 – Charles Proteus Steinmetz, German-American electrical engineer (development of alternating current), born in Breslau, Province of Silesia, Prussia (d. 1923)
1883 – Renzo Bossi, Italian composer, born in Como (d. 1965)
1884 – Franco Vittadini, Italian composer, born in Pavia, Italy (d. 1948)
1904 – Lyle Latell, American actor (Not of the Earth, Dick Tracy’s Dilemma, Sky Dragon), born in Alma, Iowa (d. 1967)
1965 – Mark Pellegrino, American actor (Lucifer-Supernatural), born in Los Angeles, California
1965 – Jay Wesley Neill, American convicted mass murderer (d. 2002)

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Famous Deaths

491 – Zeno, Eastern Roman Emperor (474-75, 476-91), dies at 66
1557 – Michael Agricola, Finnish theologist/church reformer/bishop, dies
1807 – John Opie, English painter (The Murder of Rizzio), dies at 46
1936 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher, dies at 80
1997 – Helene Hanff, author (84 Charing Cross Road), dies at 80
1999 – Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Niger politician and general, assassinated at 49

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