Today in History

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Today in History

By Correspondent

Today in history
193Apr 14Lucius Septimius Severus (d.211), a native son of Leptis Magna in Libya, was crowned emperor of Rome. Under his rule the empire reached its greatest extent with almost 50 provinces.
711Apr 14Childebert III (~27), king of the French, died.
979Apr 14There was a challenge to throne of King Aethelred II, the Unrede (Unready), of England (979-1016). He attempted to buy peace with from Scandinavian invaders and called for England’s 1st general tax, the Danegeld. Some 140,000 pounds of silver was paid in tribute.
1099Apr 14Conrad, bishop of Utrecht, was stabbed to death.
1191Apr 14Giacinto Bobo (85) became Pope Coelestinus III.
1229Apr 14A scribe name John completed a religious text that overwrote a manuscript attributed to Archimedes that had been copied by a scribe in the 10th century. In 2006 scientists attempted to read the final pages of the Archimedes palimpsest, which contained text from his “Method of Mechanical Theorems.”
1430Apr 14A band of Hussites raided the monastery at Czestochowa, Poland, and robbed it of its precious artifacts.
1433Apr 14Liduina van Schiedam (53), Dutch mystic (Christ’s Bride), saint, died.
1471Apr 14On Easter Sunday Edward IV led an army of mercenaries and Yorkists at the Battle of Barnet and defeated the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick. Richard Neville Warwick (42), 2nd earl of Salisbury, was killed in battle. Margaret of Anjou returned from France. With her son, the Prince of Wales, she planned to join with Jasper Tudor, a Welsh ally, and attack Edward west of London.
1528Apr 14A Spanish expedition, led by Panfilo de Narvaez, arrived at the west coast of Florida with 400 soldiers and 42 horses.
1536Apr 14English king Henry VIII expropriated minor monasteries.
1543Apr 14Bartoleme Ferrelo returned to Spain after discovering a large bay in the New World (San Francisco).
1552Apr 14Laurentius Andreae, [Lars Andersson], Swedish church reformer, died.
1570 Apr 14Polish Calvinists, Lutherans, Hernhutters unified against the Jesuits.
1578Apr 14Philip III, king of Spain and Portugal (1598-1621), was born.
1592Apr 14Abraham Elsevier, book publisher, was born.
1611Apr 14Word “telescope” was 1st used by Prince Federico Cesi.
1629Apr 14Christian Huygens (d.1695), Dutch astronomer, discoverer of Saturn’s rings, was born. He invented the pendulum and along with Newton showed that any body revolving around a center is actually accelerating constantly toward that center, even though the rate of rotation remains constant.
1676Apr 14Ernst Christian Hesse, composer, was born in Thuringian town of Gros sengottern.
1695Apr 13-14Jean de la Fontaine (73), French poet (Fables), died.
1721Apr 14William Augustus duke of Cumberland, English army leader (“Butcher of Culloden”), was born.
1723Apr 14John Wainwright, composer, was born.
1756Apr 14Gov. Glen of South Carolina protested against 900 Acadia Indians.
1759Apr 14Georg Friedrich Handel (74), German-born composer, died in London.  He had composed some 30 oratorios.
1762Apr 14Giuseppe Valadier, Italian architect, archaeologist, was born.
1775Apr 14Gen. Thomas Gage, commander of British forces in North America, received orders from Parliament authorizing him to use aggressive military force against the American rebels.
1777Apr 14NY adopted a new constitution as an independent state. Governor Morris was the chief writer of the state constitution.
1792Apr 14Pres. George Washington appointed David Rittenhouse, the foremost scientist of America, the first director of the US Mint at a salary of $2000 per annum. Rittenhouse was then in feeble health and lived at the northwest corner of Seventh and Arch Streets, then one of the high places of Old Philadelphia, where he had an observatory and where he later died and was first buried.
1793Apr 14A royalist rebellion in Santo Domingo was crushed by French republican troops.
1797Apr 14Adolphe Thiers, 1st president of 3rd French Republic (1871-77), was born.
1799Apr 14Napoleon called for establishing Jerusalem for Jews.
1809Apr 14Napoleon defeated Austria in the Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria.
1813Apr 14Joachim Nicolas Eggert (34), composer, died.
1818Apr 14The US Medical Corp. formed.
1819Apr 14Charles Halle, pianist, conductor, founder (Halle Orch), was born.
1828Apr 14The first edition of Noah Webster’s “American Dictionary of the English Language” was published. Webster had finished writing it in England in January, 1825.
1841Apr 14Edgar Allen Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” published.
1843Apr 14Joseph Franz Karl Lanner (42), Austria, composer, violist, died.
1853Apr 14Harriet Tubman began her Underground Railroad, helping slaves to escape.
1859Apr 14Charles Dickens’ “A Tale Of Two Cities” was published.
1860Apr 14First Pony Express rider arrived in San Francisco with mail originating in St. Joseph, Missouri.
1861Apr 14Winfield Scott, US general-in-chief, met with Pres. Lincoln and his cabinet to plan a response to the surrender of Fort Sumter. They decided to enlarge the 17,000 member US army and raise 75,000 new volunteers to suppress the rebellion.
1862Apr 14Battle and subsequent massacre of black Union soldiers at Ft. Pillow, TN.
1863Apr 14William Bullock patented a continuous-roll printing press.
1865Apr 14A 2nd assassin stabbed the Sec. of State 5 times. George Atzerodt, a 3rd assassin for the vice president, got cold feet.
1866Apr 14Anne Sullivan (d.1936), teacher to Helen Keller, was born in Feeding Hills, Mass.
1883Apr 14Leo Delibes’ opera “Lakme,” premiered in Paris.
1887Apr 14Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure “Reigate Squires.”
1889Apr 14Arnold Toynbee (d.1975), English historian, was born. He wrote the 12-volume “A Study of History.” “The history of almost every civilization furnishes examples of geographical expansion coinciding with deterioration in quality.” “Of the 20 or so civilizations known to modern Western historians, all except our own appear to be dead or moribund, and, when we diagnose each case … we invariably find that the cause of death has been either War or Class or some combination of the two.”
1890Apr 14The First International Conference of American States met in Washington, where delegates agreed to form the International Union of American Republics, a forerunner of the Organization of American States.
1894Apr 14Thomas Edison made his first public showing of the kinetoscope. The first Kinetoscope Parlor opened in New York City where you could view moving film through a magnifying lens. Thomas Edison invented the Kinetograph in 1889, a cinema camera that utilized celluloid roll film that had been developed by George Eastman in 1888. The Kinetoscope, developed by Edison in 1891, was a peephole viewer in which the developed film moved continuously under a magnifying glass. The Cinematographe and Vitascope were later machines that actually projected images onto a screen. The Stroboscope and Phenakistoscope were devices developed in 1832, predating photography, that attempted to show apparent motion from a series of drawings on a revolving disc.
1895Apr 141st performance of Gustav Mahler’s (incomplete) 2nd Symphony.
1896Apr 14John Philip Sousa’s opera, “El Capitan,” premiered in NYC.
1898Apr 14Harold Black, electrical engineer, was born.
1900Apr 14Salvatore Baccaloni, basso buffo (Barber of Seville, l’Eosir d’Amore) actor (Merry Andrew, Rock-a-Bye Baby), was born in Rome.
1902Apr 14James Cash Penney (J.C. Penney) opened his first Golden Rule Store for clothes, shoes and dry goods in Kemmerer, Wyoming. It grew to a chain and was renamed J.C. Penney in 1913. By 1929 there were 1,395 stores in the chain.
1903Apr 14Dr. Harry Plotz in NYC discovered a vaccine against typhoid.
1904Apr 14Sir John Gielgud, actor, was born.
1907Apr 14Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, dictator of Haiti, was born.
1910Apr 14President William Howard Taft began a sports tradition by throwing out the first pitch on baseball’s Opening Day. Taft threw to Washington Senator pitcher Walter Johnson, who went on to hurl a shutout win, allowing the Philadelphia Phillies just one hit and ending the day with a 3-0 victory for Washington.
1912Apr 14The British liner Titanic, on her maiden voyage and hailed as ”˜the unsinkable ship,’ collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic and began sinking.
1913Apr 14Jean Fournet, French conductor, was born.
1914Apr 14Stacy G. Carkhuff patented a non-skid tire pattern.
1916Apr 14Emerson Buckley, composer, was born.
1920Apr 14John Paul Stevens, US Supreme Court Justice, was born.
1922Apr 14Irish Republic rebels occupied 4 government courts in Dublin.
1924Apr 14Louis Henri Sullivan (67), American architect (Wainwright building St Louis), died. He wrote an autobiography entitled “The Autobiography of an Idea.” “Imagination is the greatest of man’s single working powers – and the trickiest; as the intellect is the frailest, the most subject to derangement, the most given to cowardice and betrayal, unless it be held steady and sane by the power of instinct.”
1925Apr 14Rod Steiger, film actor (Illustrated Man, Pawnbroker), was born in West Hampton, NY.
1927Apr 14In California lobbyist Harry Hill (b.1880) shot and killed Marybelle Wallace, who had spurned his romantic advances. Hill, a Sacramento lobbyist, then shot and killed himself. Wallace was an employee of Sen. Lyon.
1930Apr 14Philip Barry’s “Hotel Universe,” premiered in NYC.
1931Apr 14In Spain a Republic was declared. King Alfonso XIII of Spain was overthrown and went into exile, and the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed.
1932Apr 14Germany’s Pres. Hindenburg signed a decree outlawing Nazi SA and SS. Chancellor Bruning thought this would curb Hitler’s growth. Instead, it will prove to be Bruning’s fall.
1935Apr 14Loretta Lynn, singer (Coal Miner’s Daughter), was born in Butcher’s Hollow, Ky. In 1948 she married Doo Lynn (d.1996). she recorded her 1st single in 1960: “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl.”
1936Apr 14Anne Sullivan (b.1866), teacher to Helen Keller, died in Forest Hills, NYC.
1939Apr 14The John Steinbeck novel “The Grapes of Wrath” was first published.
1940Apr 14Allied troops landed in Norway.
1941Apr 14Julie Christie, actress (Dr Zhivago), was born in Assam, India.
1942Apr 14Destroyer Roper sank German U-85 of US east coast.
1944Apr 14Gen. Eisenhower became head commander of allied air fleet.
1945Apr 14US 7th Army and allies forces captured Nuremberg and Stuttgart, Germany.
1948Apr 14Walter P. Reuther, Pres (United Auto Workers), was shot at his home.
1949Apr 14The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg’s made its last judgment.
1953Apr 14Viet Minh invaded Laos with 40,000 troops in their war against French colonial forces.
1956Apr 14“Plain and Fancy” closed at Mark Hellinger Theater in NYC after 476 performances.
1958Apr 14Sputnik 2 (with dog Laika) burned up in the atmosphere.
1959Apr 14The Taft Memorial Bell Tower was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
1960Apr 14“Bye Bye Birdie” opened at Martin Beck Theater in NYC for 607 performances.
1961Apr 14The Soviet Union made its first live television broadcast.
1964Apr 14Rachel L. Carson (56), American biologist, author (Silent spring), died. She raised public awareness of environmental pollution and ecological issues with a number of best-selling books — notably Silent Spring (1962). In 1997 Linda Gear wrote the biography: “Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature.” In 2012 William Souder authored “On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson.”
1965Apr 14Perry E. Smith and Robert E. Hickok, US murderers, were hanged. Their 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family was described by Truman Capote (1924-1984) in his 1965 book: “In Cold Blood”
1967Apr 14In San Francisco thousands marched from the Ferry building to Kezar Stadium against the Vietnam war. The marchers filled the 40,000 capacity stadium.
1968Apr 14The gay-themed play, “The Boys in the Band” by Mart Crowley, opened off Broadway at Theater Four and set a new genre. A film version was released in 1970.
1969Apr 14In the 41st Academy Awards “Oliver” won as best picture, Cliff Robertson won as best actor (Charly), Katherine Hepburn tied as best actress (Lion in Winter) with Barbara Streisand (Funny Girl).
1970Apr 14The Sandy Wilson musical “Boy Friend” opened at Ambassador Theater in NYC for 119 performances. The original London production was in 1954.
1977Apr 14Computer enthusiasts gathered for the 1st West Coast Computer Faire at the SF Civic Auditorium. An estimated 20-30 thousand American homes had computers.
1980Apr 14In the 52nd Academy Awards held in Los Angeles “Kramer vs. Kramer” won as the best picture and Dustin Hoffman won the best actor award for his role in the film. Sally Field won as best actress for her role in “Norma Rae.”
1981Apr 14The first test flight of America’s first operational space shuttle, the Columbia 1, ended successfully with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
1986Apr 14Italy, which opposed an American strike against Libya, warned Libya a day before the strike, which was launched from a NATO base on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.
1987Apr 14The Turkish Government formally applied to join the European Communities.
1988Apr 14The Japanese Red Army bombed a US military recreational club in Naples. 5 people were killed.
1989Apr 14Testimony concluded in the Iran-Contra trial of former National Security Council staff member Oliver L. North.
1991Apr 14The final withdrawal of American combat troops from southern Iraq began, 88 days after the United States launched its massive offensive to drive Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait.
1992Apr 14“Guys and Dolls” opened at Martin Beck Theater in NYC for 1143 performances.
1993Apr 14A U.S. government-funded study said that of 3,321 men surveyed, only 1.1 percent identified themselves as exclusively homosexual, a finding disputed by gay activists.
1994Apr 14The chiefs of the nation’s seven largest tobacco companies spent more than six hours being grilled by the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee about the effects of smoking.
1995Apr 14The UN Security Council (Resolution 986) gave permission to Iraq, still under sanctions for its invasion of Kuwait, to sell $2 billion dollars’ worth of oil to buy food, medicine and other supplies. Iraq later rejected the offer.
1996Apr 14“A History of Queer Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area” by Susan Stryker and Jim Van Buskirk was reviewed.
1997Apr 14A presidential task force released guidelines for a code-of-conduct to curb sweatshop abuses amongst apparel worldwide manufacturers.
1998Apr 14The Grand Forks Herald of North Dakota won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of a flood and fire despite a damaged printing plant. The fiction prize went to Philip Roth, his first, for “American Pastoral.”
1999Apr 14Independent 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.
2000Apr 14In Russia the Duma passed the START II Arms Treaty
2001Apr 14The 21 men and 3 women crew of the US spy plane who were held in China for 11 days landed at their home base, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Washington, where they were greeted by thousands of friends, family members and other well-wishers.
2002Apr 14Glenn Murcutt, Australian architect, was selected as the winner of the Pritzker Architectural Prize.
2003Apr 14In New Orleans a gunman with an AK-47 shot a killed one boy (15) at the John McDonough High School. 3 teenage girls were wounded. 4 suspects were arrested in the gang-related shooting.
2004Apr 14President Bush gave PM Ariel Sharon U.S backing for Israeli plans to hold on to parts of the West Bank. He also ruled out Palestinian refugees returning to Israel, bringing strong criticism from the Palestinians.
2005Apr 14Pres. Bush threw out the 1st pitch at RFK Stadium as the Nationals brought baseball back to the capital. Washington, DC, had last hosted a major-league game in September, 1971.
2006Apr 14President Bush rebuffed recommendations from a growing number of retired generals that he replace Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, saying, “He has my full support.”
2007Apr 14The Morongo Indian reservation in southern California and its 775 adult members reportedly received seven-tenths of their casino’s profits which amounted to roughly $15,000 to $20,000 per person, per month. In 1989 the tribe’s average, annual household income was $13,000.
2008Apr 14Pres. Bush ordered the release of $200 million in emergency aid as the UN Sec. Gen. said a global food crises has reached emergency levels.
2009Apr 14San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi proposed legislation for the city to sell and distribute medical marijuana.
2010Apr 14Pres. Obama signed an executive order freezing the assets of Somali militias. The order could make it illegal for US ship owners to pay ransoms to Somali pirates.
2011Apr 14San Francisco supervisors heard that the city’s overtime bill for this fiscal year was on pace to hit nearly $40 million, $12 million more than last year.
2012Apr 14The United States called off plans to send food aid to North Korea after the impoverished state’s defiant rocket launch, as an aid group feared more than two million children would go hungry.
2013Apr 14In Belgium a Polish bus carrying Russian youngsters crashed through the guardrails of a bridge and plunged 5 meters (16 feet) to a field below, killing at least five people and injuring 12.
2014Apr 14California police said two parolees killed at least four women while wearing GPS trackers last fall. Franc Cano (27) and Steven Dean Gordon (45) were charged with four counts of rape and four counts of murder.
Source: Timelines of History

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