April 19
1775 - The "shot heard around the world" was fired as Colonial Minute Men took on British Army regulars at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, starting the American Revolution.
1865 - A funeral was held at the White House for President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated five days earlier; his coffin was then taken to the U.S. Capitol for a private memorial service in the Rotunda.
1882 - Naturalist Charles Darwin, developer of the theory of evolution, died.
1912 - A special subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee opened hearings in New York into the Titanic disaster.
1933 - The United States went off the gold standard.
1943 - The Warshaw ghetto uprising began, one of the first mass rebellions against the Nazis.
1977 - The Supreme Court, in Ingraham v. Wright, ruled 5-4 that even severe spanking of schoolchildren by faculty members did not violate the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment.
1989 - Forty-seven sailors were killed when a gun turret exploded aboard the USS Cockeye in the Caribbean.
1993 - The 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended as fire destroyed the structure after federal agents began smashing their way in; about 80 people, including two dozen children and sect leader David Koresh, were killed.
1995 - Timothy McVeigh, seeking to strike at the government he blamed for the Waco deaths in 1993, destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. (McVeigh was convicted of federal murder charges and executed in 2001.)
2005 - Germany's Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI.
2013 - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a 19-year-old college student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombings, was taken into custody after a manhunt that had left the city virtually paralyzed; his older brother and alleged accomplice, 26-year-old Tamerlan (TAM’-ehr-luhn), was killed earlier in a furious attempt to escape police.
2015 - Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man, died a week after suffering a spinal cord injury in the back of a Baltimore police van while he was handcuffed and shackled. (Six police officers were charged; three were acquitted and the city’s top prosecutor eventually dropped the three remaining cases.)
2017 - Fox News Channel’s parent company fired Bill O’Reilly following an investigation into harassment allegations, bringing a stunning end to cable news’ most popular program.
2018 - Raul Castro turned over Cuba’s presidency to Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the first non-Castro to hold Cuba’s top government office since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro and his younger brother Raul.
Birthdays
22 - Loren Gray (singer)
26 - Patrik Laine (hockey player)
34 - Kim Chiu (actress)
37 - Maria Sharapova (tennis player)
37 - Courtland Mead (actor)
38 - Candace Parker (basketball player)
39 - Zack Conroy (actor)
40 - Kelen Coleman (actress)
41 - Victoria Yeates (actress)
42 - Ali Wong (actress/comedian)
43 - Troy Polamalu (football player)
43 - Hayden Christensen (actor)
45 - Kate Hudson (actress)
46 - James Franco (actor)
46 - Joanna Gaines (reality star)
52 - Jennifer Taylor (actress)
52 - Jennifer Esposito (actress)
56 - Bekka Bramlett (singer)
56 - Ashley Judd (actress)
56 - Kim Hawthorne (actress)
59 - Suge Knight (music executive)
61 - Tom Wood (actor)
62 - Al Unser Jr. (race car driver)
68 - Sue Barker (tennis player)
72 - Tony Plana (actor)
78 - Tim Curry (actor)
87 - Elinor Donahue (actress)
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Today in Sports History - April 19
1897 - The Boston Marathon was run for the first time with John J. McDermott winning the inaugural race in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds.
1960 - Baseball uniforms began displaying player's names on their backs.
1968 - In Chicago, the National League approved expansion to Montreal and San Diego. Dallas-Fort Worth failed in its bid for an NL franchise.
1987 - The Los Angeles Clippers end their NBA season with a dismal record of 12-70.
1988 - The Philadelphia 76ers retired Julius Erving's #6.
1992 - Michael Jordan won his sixth consecutive NBA scoring title with an average of 30.1.
1997 - The St. Louis Rams select Ohio State offensive tackle Orlando Pace with the first pick in the NFL Draft.
1999 - Cal Ripken Jr. (Baltimore Orioles) was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his 19 year career. He was suffering from a back problem.
2021 - In Las Vegas, Nevada: San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau breaks Gordie Howe's NHL record for most games played, now at 1,768 and counting
1775 - The "shot heard around the world" was fired as Colonial Minute Men took on British Army regulars at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, starting the American Revolution.
1865 - A funeral was held at the White House for President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated five days earlier; his coffin was then taken to the U.S. Capitol for a private memorial service in the Rotunda.
1882 - Naturalist Charles Darwin, developer of the theory of evolution, died.
1912 - A special subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee opened hearings in New York into the Titanic disaster.
1933 - The United States went off the gold standard.
1943 - The Warshaw ghetto uprising began, one of the first mass rebellions against the Nazis.
1977 - The Supreme Court, in Ingraham v. Wright, ruled 5-4 that even severe spanking of schoolchildren by faculty members did not violate the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment.
1989 - Forty-seven sailors were killed when a gun turret exploded aboard the USS Cockeye in the Caribbean.
1993 - The 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended as fire destroyed the structure after federal agents began smashing their way in; about 80 people, including two dozen children and sect leader David Koresh, were killed.
1995 - Timothy McVeigh, seeking to strike at the government he blamed for the Waco deaths in 1993, destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. (McVeigh was convicted of federal murder charges and executed in 2001.)
2005 - Germany's Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI.
2013 - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a 19-year-old college student wanted in the Boston Marathon bombings, was taken into custody after a manhunt that had left the city virtually paralyzed; his older brother and alleged accomplice, 26-year-old Tamerlan (TAM’-ehr-luhn), was killed earlier in a furious attempt to escape police.
2015 - Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man, died a week after suffering a spinal cord injury in the back of a Baltimore police van while he was handcuffed and shackled. (Six police officers were charged; three were acquitted and the city’s top prosecutor eventually dropped the three remaining cases.)
2017 - Fox News Channel’s parent company fired Bill O’Reilly following an investigation into harassment allegations, bringing a stunning end to cable news’ most popular program.
2018 - Raul Castro turned over Cuba’s presidency to Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the first non-Castro to hold Cuba’s top government office since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro and his younger brother Raul.
Birthdays
22 - Loren Gray (singer)
26 - Patrik Laine (hockey player)
34 - Kim Chiu (actress)
37 - Maria Sharapova (tennis player)
37 - Courtland Mead (actor)
38 - Candace Parker (basketball player)
39 - Zack Conroy (actor)
40 - Kelen Coleman (actress)
41 - Victoria Yeates (actress)
42 - Ali Wong (actress/comedian)
43 - Troy Polamalu (football player)
43 - Hayden Christensen (actor)
45 - Kate Hudson (actress)
46 - James Franco (actor)
46 - Joanna Gaines (reality star)
52 - Jennifer Taylor (actress)
52 - Jennifer Esposito (actress)
56 - Bekka Bramlett (singer)
56 - Ashley Judd (actress)
56 - Kim Hawthorne (actress)
59 - Suge Knight (music executive)
61 - Tom Wood (actor)
62 - Al Unser Jr. (race car driver)
68 - Sue Barker (tennis player)
72 - Tony Plana (actor)
78 - Tim Curry (actor)
87 - Elinor Donahue (actress)
==============================
Today in Sports History - April 19
1897 - The Boston Marathon was run for the first time with John J. McDermott winning the inaugural race in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds.
1960 - Baseball uniforms began displaying player's names on their backs.
1968 - In Chicago, the National League approved expansion to Montreal and San Diego. Dallas-Fort Worth failed in its bid for an NL franchise.
1987 - The Los Angeles Clippers end their NBA season with a dismal record of 12-70.
1988 - The Philadelphia 76ers retired Julius Erving's #6.
1992 - Michael Jordan won his sixth consecutive NBA scoring title with an average of 30.1.
1997 - The St. Louis Rams select Ohio State offensive tackle Orlando Pace with the first pick in the NFL Draft.
1999 - Cal Ripken Jr. (Baltimore Orioles) was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his 19 year career. He was suffering from a back problem.
2021 - In Las Vegas, Nevada: San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau breaks Gordie Howe's NHL record for most games played, now at 1,768 and counting