April 20
1769 - Ottawa Indian chief Pontiac was murdered.
1792 - France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary wars.
1812 - Vice President George Clinton, a former New York governor, died at age 73, becoming the first U.S. vice president to die while in office.
1836 - The Wisconsin Territory was established.
1841 - The first detective story, Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," was published.
1861 - Col. Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the United States Army. (Lee went on to command the Army of Northern Virginia, and eventually became general-in-chief of the Confederate forces.)
1889 - Future Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.
1902 - Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.
1940 - RCA publicly demonstrated its new electron microscope.
1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the practice of busing for racial desegregation.
1972 - The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
1980 - The first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida.
1999 - The nation's deadliest school shooting occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado where 14 students (including the gunmen) and one teacher were killed; 23 others were wounded.
2003 - U.S. Army forces took control of Baghdad from the Marines in a changing of the guard that thinned the military presence in the capital.
2008 - Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his final Mass in the United States before a full house in Yankee Stadium, blessing his enormous U.S. flock and telling Americans to use their freedoms wisely.
2010 - An explosion on a BP oil drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana killed 11 people and injured 17 and caused an estimated 13,000 gallons of crude oil per hour to flow into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of the next three months.
2012 - A judge ruled that George Zimmerman could be released on $150,000 bail while he awaited trial on a charge of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a February 2012 confrontation in a Sanford, Florida gated community. (Zimmerman was acquitted.)
2016 - Five former New Orleans police officers pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the deadly shootings on a bridge in the days following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
2017 - Arkansas overcame a flurry of court challenges that derailed three other executions, putting to death an inmate for the first time in nearly a dozen years.
2021 - Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with a knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that triggered worldwide protests and a reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S. (Chauvin would be sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.)
Birthdays
25 - Maemae Renfrow (actress)
31 - Luke Kuechly (football player)
33 - Carlos Valdes (actor)
38 - Tim Jo (actor)
39 - Miranda Kerr (model)
44 - Clayne Crawford (actor)
46 - Joey Lawrence (actor)
50 - Carmen Electra (actress/model)
52 - Shemar Moore (actor)
53 - Wade Hayes (singer)
54 - William deVry (actor)
58 - Rosalynn Sumners (figure skater)
58 - Andy Serkis (actor)
58 - Crispin Glover (actor)
63 - Clint Howard (actor)
73 - Veronica Cartwright (actress)
73 - Jessica Lange (actress)
77 - Judith O'Dea (actress)
81 - Ryan O'Neal (actor)
85 - George Takei (actor)
98 - Leslie Phillips (actor)
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Today in Sports History - April 20
1912 - The Boston Red Sox played their first game at Fenway Park, beating the New York Highlanders (Yankees), 7-6.
1916 - The Chicago Cubs played their first game at Wrigley Field (then known as Weeghman Park), defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6.
1939 - Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox.
1944 - The NFL legalizes coaching from the bench.
1958 - The Montreal Canadiens win their third consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins.
1982 - The Atlanta Braves establish a new record with a 12-0 start to the season.
1986 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls sets a new NBA playoff record with 63 points in a game.
1988 - The Baltimore Orioles set a new major league record for worst start to the season at 0-14 (they would go 0-21 before recording their first win).
1996 - The Chicago Bulls win their 72nd game of the season, establishing a then record for best regular season record in NBA history (72-10).
2002 - The Houston Texans select Fresno State quarterback David Carr with the first pick in the NFL Draft.
2003 - The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 in the third overtime to win the series 4-2. It was the first time in the 11-year history of the Tampa Bay franchise that they advanced in the playoffs.
2008 - Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.
2021 - All six English Premier League teams (Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham) withdraw from the controversial proposed "European Super League" just three days after it was announced.
1769 - Ottawa Indian chief Pontiac was murdered.
1792 - France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary wars.
1812 - Vice President George Clinton, a former New York governor, died at age 73, becoming the first U.S. vice president to die while in office.
1836 - The Wisconsin Territory was established.
1841 - The first detective story, Edgar Allan Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue," was published.
1861 - Col. Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the United States Army. (Lee went on to command the Army of Northern Virginia, and eventually became general-in-chief of the Confederate forces.)
1889 - Future Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.
1902 - Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium.
1940 - RCA publicly demonstrated its new electron microscope.
1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the practice of busing for racial desegregation.
1972 - The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.
1980 - The first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida.
1999 - The nation's deadliest school shooting occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado where 14 students (including the gunmen) and one teacher were killed; 23 others were wounded.
2003 - U.S. Army forces took control of Baghdad from the Marines in a changing of the guard that thinned the military presence in the capital.
2008 - Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his final Mass in the United States before a full house in Yankee Stadium, blessing his enormous U.S. flock and telling Americans to use their freedoms wisely.
2010 - An explosion on a BP oil drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana killed 11 people and injured 17 and caused an estimated 13,000 gallons of crude oil per hour to flow into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of the next three months.
2012 - A judge ruled that George Zimmerman could be released on $150,000 bail while he awaited trial on a charge of murdering 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a February 2012 confrontation in a Sanford, Florida gated community. (Zimmerman was acquitted.)
2016 - Five former New Orleans police officers pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the deadly shootings on a bridge in the days following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
2017 - Arkansas overcame a flurry of court challenges that derailed three other executions, putting to death an inmate for the first time in nearly a dozen years.
2021 - Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter for pinning George Floyd to the pavement with a knee on the Black man’s neck in a case that triggered worldwide protests and a reexamination of racism and policing in the U.S. (Chauvin would be sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.)
Birthdays
25 - Maemae Renfrow (actress)
31 - Luke Kuechly (football player)
33 - Carlos Valdes (actor)
38 - Tim Jo (actor)
39 - Miranda Kerr (model)
44 - Clayne Crawford (actor)
46 - Joey Lawrence (actor)
50 - Carmen Electra (actress/model)
52 - Shemar Moore (actor)
53 - Wade Hayes (singer)
54 - William deVry (actor)
58 - Rosalynn Sumners (figure skater)
58 - Andy Serkis (actor)
58 - Crispin Glover (actor)
63 - Clint Howard (actor)
73 - Veronica Cartwright (actress)
73 - Jessica Lange (actress)
77 - Judith O'Dea (actress)
81 - Ryan O'Neal (actor)
85 - George Takei (actor)
98 - Leslie Phillips (actor)
====================================
Today in Sports History - April 20
1912 - The Boston Red Sox played their first game at Fenway Park, beating the New York Highlanders (Yankees), 7-6.
1916 - The Chicago Cubs played their first game at Wrigley Field (then known as Weeghman Park), defeating the Cincinnati Reds, 7-6.
1939 - Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams made his major league debut with the Boston Red Sox.
1944 - The NFL legalizes coaching from the bench.
1958 - The Montreal Canadiens win their third consecutive Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins.
1982 - The Atlanta Braves establish a new record with a 12-0 start to the season.
1986 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls sets a new NBA playoff record with 63 points in a game.
1988 - The Baltimore Orioles set a new major league record for worst start to the season at 0-14 (they would go 0-21 before recording their first win).
1996 - The Chicago Bulls win their 72nd game of the season, establishing a then record for best regular season record in NBA history (72-10).
2002 - The Houston Texans select Fresno State quarterback David Carr with the first pick in the NFL Draft.
2003 - The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 in the third overtime to win the series 4-2. It was the first time in the 11-year history of the Tampa Bay franchise that they advanced in the playoffs.
2008 - Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.
2021 - All six English Premier League teams (Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham) withdraw from the controversial proposed "European Super League" just three days after it was announced.
