April 3
1860 - The first Pony Express service began.
1865 - Union forces occupied the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
1882 - Outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back by Bob Ford, one of his own gang members, reportedly for a $10,000 reward.
1936 - Bruno Hauptmann was executed in the electric chair in Trenton, New Jersey for the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby.
1942 - During World War II, Japanese forces began their final assault on Bataan against American and Filipino troops who surrendered six days later; the capitulation was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.
1944 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Smith v. Allwright, struck down a Democratic Party of Texas rule that allowed only white voters to participate in Democratic primaries.
1948 - President Harry S. Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which would foster the economic recovery of war-torn Europe and help resist communism.
1968 - Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what turned out to be his final speech, telling a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, that “I’ve been to the mountaintop” and “seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!” (About 20 hours later, King was felled by an assassin’s bullet at the Lorraine Motel.)
1973 - The first handheld portable cellular telephone was demonstrated for reporters on a New York City street corner as Motorola executive Martin Cooper called Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
1974 - Deadly tornadoes began hitting wide parts of the South and Midwest before jumping across the border into Canada; more than 300 fatalities resulted from what became known as the Super Tornado Outbreak.
1996 - U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown died in a plane crash in Croatia.
1996 - "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski was arrested at his remote Montana cabin.
2004 - A suspect in Madrid, Spain's March bombings blew himself up along with three others.
2014 - David Letterman announced during a taping of the "Late Show" on CBS that he would retire as host in 2015.
2018 - A woman opened fire with a handgun in a courtyard at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California, wounding three people before fatally shooting herself; family members said she was upset with the company’s handling of her videos and believed she was being deprived of income and views.
2020 - President Donald Trump announced new federal guidelines recommending that Americans wear face coverings when in public to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, but Trump immediately said he had no intention of following that advice himself; he said he could not envision himself covering his face while sitting in the Oval Office greeting world leaders.
Birthdays
25 - Paris Jackson (model)
26 - Kiana Lede (singer)
27 - Sarah Jeffery (actress)
32 - Hayley Kiyoko (actress)
36 - Rachel Bloom (actress/comedian)
37 - Amanda Bynes (actress)
38 - Leona Lewis (singer)
39 - Chrissie Fit (actress)
41 - Cobie Smulders (actress)
45 - Matthew Goode (actor)
50 - Adam Scott (actor)
51 - Jennie Garth (actress)
52 - Picabo Street (skier)
55 - Sebastian Bach (singer)
62 - Eddie Murphy (actor/comedian)
64 - David Hyde Pierce (actor)
65 - Alec Baldwin (actor)
79 - Tony Orlando (singer)
81 - Wayne Newton (singer)
81 - Marsha Mason (actress)
82 - Eric Braeden (actor)
86 - William Gaunt (actor)
89 - Jane Goodall (conservationist)
============================
Today in Sports History - April 3
1930 - The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.
1977 - The Montreal Canadiens became the first team in NHL history to win 60 games in a season. They beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 to end the season with a record of 60-8-12.
1983 - USC defeats Louisiana Tech 69-67 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1985 - The Major League Baseball Players' Association agreed to a proposal of the team owners to expand the 1985 League Championship Series from the best-of-five games to best-of-seven.
1988 - Louisiana Tech defeats Auburn 56-54 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1988 - Mario Lemieux wins the NHL scoring title, stopping Wayne Gretzky's seven-year streak.
1989 - Michigan defeats Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime to win the NCAA Tournament.
1994 - North Carolina defeats Louisiana Tech 60-59 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1995 - UCLA defeats Arkansas 89-78 to win the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history.
2000 - Michigan State defeats Florida 89-76 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2005 - WrestleMania 21 is held in Los Angeles where Triple H defeated Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship and John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield for the WWE championship.
2006 - Florida defeats UCLA 73-57 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2007 - Tennessee defeats Rutgers 59-46 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
2011 - WrestleMania XXVII is held in Atlanta where The Miz defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship.
2012 - Baylor defeats Notre Dame 80-61 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
2016 - WrestleMania 32 is held in Arlington, Texas. Roman Reigns defeated Triple H to win the WWE Championship and Charlotte Flair defeated Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to win the inaugural WWE Women's Championship.
2017 - North Carolina defeats Gonzaga 71-65 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2019 - San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich is ejected a record 63 seconds after the start of their game against the Denver Nuggets after receiving two technical fouls in a verbal confrontation with a referee.
2022 - WrestleMania 38 is held in Arlington, Texas; in the main event Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar to to unify the WWE championship and the Universal Championship.
1860 - The first Pony Express service began.
1865 - Union forces occupied the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
1882 - Outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back by Bob Ford, one of his own gang members, reportedly for a $10,000 reward.
1936 - Bruno Hauptmann was executed in the electric chair in Trenton, New Jersey for the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby.
1942 - During World War II, Japanese forces began their final assault on Bataan against American and Filipino troops who surrendered six days later; the capitulation was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.
1944 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Smith v. Allwright, struck down a Democratic Party of Texas rule that allowed only white voters to participate in Democratic primaries.
1948 - President Harry S. Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which would foster the economic recovery of war-torn Europe and help resist communism.
1968 - Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what turned out to be his final speech, telling a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, that “I’ve been to the mountaintop” and “seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!” (About 20 hours later, King was felled by an assassin’s bullet at the Lorraine Motel.)
1973 - The first handheld portable cellular telephone was demonstrated for reporters on a New York City street corner as Motorola executive Martin Cooper called Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
1974 - Deadly tornadoes began hitting wide parts of the South and Midwest before jumping across the border into Canada; more than 300 fatalities resulted from what became known as the Super Tornado Outbreak.
1996 - U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown died in a plane crash in Croatia.
1996 - "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski was arrested at his remote Montana cabin.
2004 - A suspect in Madrid, Spain's March bombings blew himself up along with three others.
2014 - David Letterman announced during a taping of the "Late Show" on CBS that he would retire as host in 2015.
2018 - A woman opened fire with a handgun in a courtyard at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California, wounding three people before fatally shooting herself; family members said she was upset with the company’s handling of her videos and believed she was being deprived of income and views.
2020 - President Donald Trump announced new federal guidelines recommending that Americans wear face coverings when in public to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, but Trump immediately said he had no intention of following that advice himself; he said he could not envision himself covering his face while sitting in the Oval Office greeting world leaders.
Birthdays
25 - Paris Jackson (model)
26 - Kiana Lede (singer)
27 - Sarah Jeffery (actress)
32 - Hayley Kiyoko (actress)
36 - Rachel Bloom (actress/comedian)
37 - Amanda Bynes (actress)
38 - Leona Lewis (singer)
39 - Chrissie Fit (actress)
41 - Cobie Smulders (actress)
45 - Matthew Goode (actor)
50 - Adam Scott (actor)
51 - Jennie Garth (actress)
52 - Picabo Street (skier)
55 - Sebastian Bach (singer)
62 - Eddie Murphy (actor/comedian)
64 - David Hyde Pierce (actor)
65 - Alec Baldwin (actor)
79 - Tony Orlando (singer)
81 - Wayne Newton (singer)
81 - Marsha Mason (actress)
82 - Eric Braeden (actor)
86 - William Gaunt (actor)
89 - Jane Goodall (conservationist)
============================
Today in Sports History - April 3
1930 - The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.
1977 - The Montreal Canadiens became the first team in NHL history to win 60 games in a season. They beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 to end the season with a record of 60-8-12.
1983 - USC defeats Louisiana Tech 69-67 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1985 - The Major League Baseball Players' Association agreed to a proposal of the team owners to expand the 1985 League Championship Series from the best-of-five games to best-of-seven.
1988 - Louisiana Tech defeats Auburn 56-54 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1988 - Mario Lemieux wins the NHL scoring title, stopping Wayne Gretzky's seven-year streak.
1989 - Michigan defeats Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime to win the NCAA Tournament.
1994 - North Carolina defeats Louisiana Tech 60-59 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1995 - UCLA defeats Arkansas 89-78 to win the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in program history.
2000 - Michigan State defeats Florida 89-76 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2005 - WrestleMania 21 is held in Los Angeles where Triple H defeated Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship and John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield for the WWE championship.
2006 - Florida defeats UCLA 73-57 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2007 - Tennessee defeats Rutgers 59-46 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
2011 - WrestleMania XXVII is held in Atlanta where The Miz defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship.
2012 - Baylor defeats Notre Dame 80-61 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
2016 - WrestleMania 32 is held in Arlington, Texas. Roman Reigns defeated Triple H to win the WWE Championship and Charlotte Flair defeated Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks to win the inaugural WWE Women's Championship.
2017 - North Carolina defeats Gonzaga 71-65 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2019 - San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich is ejected a record 63 seconds after the start of their game against the Denver Nuggets after receiving two technical fouls in a verbal confrontation with a referee.
2022 - WrestleMania 38 is held in Arlington, Texas; in the main event Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar to to unify the WWE championship and the Universal Championship.
