Today is Wednesday, April 10, the 100th day of 2019.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On April 10, 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a day after surrendering the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, said farewell to his men, praising them for their “unsurpassed courage and fortitude.”
On this date:
In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was incorporated.
In 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.
In 1916, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America was founded in New York.
In 1925, the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “The Great Gatsby” was first published by Scribner’s of New York.
In 1932, German President Paul Von Hindenburg was re-elected in a runoff, with Adolf Hitler coming in second.
In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals.
In 1962, Stuart Sutcliffe, the Beatles’ original bass player, died in Hamburg, West Germany, at age 21.
In 1968, “In the Heat of the Night” won best picture of 1967 at the 40th Academy Awards; one of its stars, Rod Steiger, was named best actor while Katharine Hepburn was honored as best actress for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”
In 1971, a table tennis team from the United States arrived in China at the invitation of the communist government for a goodwill visit that came to be known as “ping-pong diplomacy.”
In 1981, imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was declared the winner of a by-election to the British Parliament.
In 1998, the Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators reached a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.
In 2010, Polish President Lech Kaczynski (lehk kah-CHIN’-skee), 60, was killed in a plane crash in western Russia that also claimed the lives of his wife and top Polish political, military and church officials.
Ten years ago: Police in Tracy, California, arrested Sunday school teacher Melissa Huckaby in connection with the death of 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, whose body had been found in a suitcase. (Huckaby eventually pleaded guilty to kidnapping and murdering her daughter’s playmate; she was sentenced to life without parole.) French Navy commandos stormed a sailboat held by pirates off the Somali coast, freeing four hostages; however, one hostage was killed in the operation.
Five years ago: A bus carrying 44 students from Southern California for a free tour of Humboldt State University on the state’s far north coast collided with a FedEx tractor-trailer near Orland; five students and three adult chaperones died, along with the drivers. A woman was taken into custody after throwing a shoe at Hillary Clinton as the former secretary of state began a Las Vegas convention keynote speech; the shoe missed. KISS, Nirvana and Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band were ushered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. CBS named Stephen Colbert to succeed the retiring David Letterman as host of the “Late Show.”
One year ago: During five hours of questioning from a U.S. Senate panel, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg batted away accusations that he had failed to protect the personal information of millions of Americans from Russians intent on upsetting the U.S. election, though he conceded that Facebook needed to work harder to make sure the tools it creates are used in “good and healthy” ways. The international chemical weapons watchdog said it was sending a fact-finding mission to a Syrian town where a suspected chemical gas attack had taken place over the weekend.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
