April 15
1755 - Samuel Johnson published his "Dictionary of the English Language."
1817 - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet opened the first free American school for the deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.
1861 - In response to the attack on Fort Sumter three days earlier, President Abraham Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called out Union troops.
1865 - President Abraham Lincoln died nine hours after being shot the night before by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington; Vice President Andrew Johnson became the nation's 17th president.
1892 - General Electric Co., formed by the merger of the Edison Electric Light Co. and other firms, was incorporated in Schenectady, New York.
1912 - The Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage about three hours after having struck an iceberg, killing 1,514 people.
1920 - A paymaster and guard were murdered in Braintree, Massaschusetts.
1945 - The Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen was liberated by Canadian and British forces during World War II.
1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died on April 12, was buried at the Roosevelt family home in Hyde Park, New York.
1955 - Ray Kroc acquired McDonald's and opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, which today is the official McDonald's corporate museum.
1974 - Members of the Symbionese Liberation Army held up a branch of the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco; a member of the group was SLA kidnap victim Patricia Hearst, who by this time was going by the name “Tania” (Hearst later said she’d been forced to participate).
1989 - Ninety-six 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.
1998 - Cambodian despot Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, died at age 72, evading prosecution for the deaths of 2 million Cambodians.
2009 - Whipped up by conservative commentators and bloggers, tens of thousands of protesters staged “tea parties” around the country to tap into the collective angst stirred up by a bad economy, government spending and bailouts.
2013 - Two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon in Boston near the finish line, killing three and injuring at least 170 others. Suspected bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a shootout with police; his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death.
2018 - A seven-hour battle over territory and money broke out among inmates armed with homemade knives at the Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina, leaving seven inmates dead and 22 injured in the worst U.S. prison riot in a quarter-century.
2019 - Fire swept across the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral as the soaring Paris landmark underwent renovations; the blaze collapsed the cathedral’s spire and spread to one of its landmark rectangular towers, but fire officials said the church’s structure had been saved.
2020 - The government reported that the nation’s industrial output in March registered its biggest decline since the U.S. demobilized at the end of World War II as factories shut down amid the coronavirus epidemic.
2022 - It was revealed that more than 900 civilian bodies had been discovered in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital following the withdrawal of Russian forces. Police said many were “simply executed.”
Birthdays
21 - Makayla Storms (model)
26 - Maisie Williams (actress)
33 - Emma Watson (actress)
36 - Samira Wiley (actress)
37 - Ester Dean (singer)
40 - Margo Price (singer)
40 - Alice Braga (actress)
41 - Seth Rogen (actor)
44 - Luke Evans (actor)
45 - Chris Stapleton (singer)
49 - Douglas Spain (actor)
49 - Danny Pino (actor)
53 - Flex Alexander (actor)
56 - Dara Torres (swimmer)
57 - Samantha Fox (actress)
64 - Emma Thompson (actress)
71 - Sam McMurray (actor)
73 - Amy Wright (actress)
76 - Lois Chiles (actress)
77 - Michael Tucci (actor)
85 - Claudia Cardinale (actress)
===============================
Today in Sports History - April 15
1896 - The first modern Summer Olympic Games close in Athens, Greece. The United States won the gold medal count with 11; Greece won the total medal count with 46.
1911 - Walter Johnson pitches a record-tying four strikeouts in an inning.
1937 - The Detroit Red Wings defeat the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup.
1947 - Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1952 - The Detroit Red Wings sweep the Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup.
1958 - The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers played the first major league baseball game on the West Coast. This was the first game in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
1965 - The NFL changes penalty flag color from white to bright gold.
1991 - Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers sets the NBA's career assists record with 9,898.
1991 - The Sacramento Kings set an NBA record with their 35th consecutive road loss.
1996 - On the 100th Boston Marathon was won by Moses Tanui of Kenya.
1997 - On the 50th anniversary of his debut, Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson's #42 for all franchises.
2000 - Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles became the 24th player in MLB history to record 3,000 career hits.
2000 - The Cleveland Browns select Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown with the first pick in the NFL Draft.
2019 - The Los Angeles Clippers overcome an NBA record 31-point deficit to score an improbable 135-131 Game 2 playoff victory over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
1755 - Samuel Johnson published his "Dictionary of the English Language."
1817 - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet opened the first free American school for the deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.
1861 - In response to the attack on Fort Sumter three days earlier, President Abraham Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called out Union troops.
1865 - President Abraham Lincoln died nine hours after being shot the night before by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington; Vice President Andrew Johnson became the nation's 17th president.
1892 - General Electric Co., formed by the merger of the Edison Electric Light Co. and other firms, was incorporated in Schenectady, New York.
1912 - The Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage about three hours after having struck an iceberg, killing 1,514 people.
1920 - A paymaster and guard were murdered in Braintree, Massaschusetts.
1945 - The Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen was liberated by Canadian and British forces during World War II.
1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who died on April 12, was buried at the Roosevelt family home in Hyde Park, New York.
1955 - Ray Kroc acquired McDonald's and opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, which today is the official McDonald's corporate museum.
1974 - Members of the Symbionese Liberation Army held up a branch of the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco; a member of the group was SLA kidnap victim Patricia Hearst, who by this time was going by the name “Tania” (Hearst later said she’d been forced to participate).
1989 - Ninety-six 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.
1998 - Cambodian despot Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, died at age 72, evading prosecution for the deaths of 2 million Cambodians.
2009 - Whipped up by conservative commentators and bloggers, tens of thousands of protesters staged “tea parties” around the country to tap into the collective angst stirred up by a bad economy, government spending and bailouts.
2013 - Two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon in Boston near the finish line, killing three and injuring at least 170 others. Suspected bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a shootout with police; his brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death.
2018 - A seven-hour battle over territory and money broke out among inmates armed with homemade knives at the Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina, leaving seven inmates dead and 22 injured in the worst U.S. prison riot in a quarter-century.
2019 - Fire swept across the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral as the soaring Paris landmark underwent renovations; the blaze collapsed the cathedral’s spire and spread to one of its landmark rectangular towers, but fire officials said the church’s structure had been saved.
2020 - The government reported that the nation’s industrial output in March registered its biggest decline since the U.S. demobilized at the end of World War II as factories shut down amid the coronavirus epidemic.
2022 - It was revealed that more than 900 civilian bodies had been discovered in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital following the withdrawal of Russian forces. Police said many were “simply executed.”
Birthdays
21 - Makayla Storms (model)
26 - Maisie Williams (actress)
33 - Emma Watson (actress)
36 - Samira Wiley (actress)
37 - Ester Dean (singer)
40 - Margo Price (singer)
40 - Alice Braga (actress)
41 - Seth Rogen (actor)
44 - Luke Evans (actor)
45 - Chris Stapleton (singer)
49 - Douglas Spain (actor)
49 - Danny Pino (actor)
53 - Flex Alexander (actor)
56 - Dara Torres (swimmer)
57 - Samantha Fox (actress)
64 - Emma Thompson (actress)
71 - Sam McMurray (actor)
73 - Amy Wright (actress)
76 - Lois Chiles (actress)
77 - Michael Tucci (actor)
85 - Claudia Cardinale (actress)
===============================
Today in Sports History - April 15
1896 - The first modern Summer Olympic Games close in Athens, Greece. The United States won the gold medal count with 11; Greece won the total medal count with 46.
1911 - Walter Johnson pitches a record-tying four strikeouts in an inning.
1937 - The Detroit Red Wings defeat the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup.
1947 - Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1952 - The Detroit Red Wings sweep the Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup.
1958 - The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers played the first major league baseball game on the West Coast. This was the first game in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
1965 - The NFL changes penalty flag color from white to bright gold.
1991 - Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers sets the NBA's career assists record with 9,898.
1991 - The Sacramento Kings set an NBA record with their 35th consecutive road loss.
1996 - On the 100th Boston Marathon was won by Moses Tanui of Kenya.
1997 - On the 50th anniversary of his debut, Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson's #42 for all franchises.
2000 - Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles became the 24th player in MLB history to record 3,000 career hits.
2000 - The Cleveland Browns select Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown with the first pick in the NFL Draft.
2019 - The Los Angeles Clippers overcome an NBA record 31-point deficit to score an improbable 135-131 Game 2 playoff victory over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
