In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, because of advancing Union forces. This April 1865 image provided by the Library of Congress shows the view of buildings below the State Capitol in Richmond, Va, which were destroyed by the Confederate evacuation fire of April 2, 1865. The fall of Richmond foreshadowed the end of the Civil War and almost 250 years of American slavery. Events are scheduled for April to commemorate the fall of Richmond. (AP Photo/Library of Congress)
In 1982, several thousand troops from Argentina seized the disputed Falkland Islands, located in the south Atlantic, from Britain. (Britain seized the islands back the following June.) FILE – In this file photo, the Malvinas Museum features rocks in the shape of Malvinas, or Falkland Islands, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
In 2005, Pope John Paul II died in his Vatican apartment at age 84. FILE – In this 1979 file photo, Pope John Paul II, left, poses with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Munich. (AP Photo/File)
Ten years ago: Leaders of the world’s rich and major developing countries met at an emergency G-20 economic summit in London; afterward, President Barack Obama hailed agreements they had reached as a “turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery,” but cautioned, “there are no guarantees.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, left, meets with China’s Vice Premier Wang Qishan for a bilateral meeting following the G-20 Leaders Summit, in London, Thursday, April 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Akira Suemori)
Today is Tuesday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2019. There are 273 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On April 2, 2005, Pope John Paul II died in his Vatican apartment at age 84.
On this date:
In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.
In 1863, during the Civil War, the Richmond Bread Riot erupted in the Confederate capital as a mob outraged over food shortages and rising prices attacked and looted stores.
In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, because of advancing Union forces.
In 1912, the just-completed RMS Titanic left Belfast to begin its sea trials eight days before the start of its ill-fated maiden voyage.
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Congress declared war four days later.)
In 1956, the soap operas “As the World Turns” and “The Edge of Night” premiered on CBS-TV.
In 1958, the term “beatnik” was coined by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen to refer to members of the pre-hippie counterculture; the term was inspired by the “Beat Generation” and by the Soviet launch of its second Sputnik spacecraft.
In 1968, “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the groundbreaking science-fiction film epic produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, had its world premiere in Washington, D.C.
In 1982, several thousand troops from Argentina seized the disputed Falkland Islands, located in the south Atlantic, from Britain. (Britain seized the islands back the following June.)
In 1986, four American passengers, including an 8-month-old girl, her mother and grandmother, were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a TWA jetliner en route from Rome to Athens, Greece.
In 1992, mob boss John Gotti was convicted in New York of murder and racketeering; he was later sentenced to life, and died in prison.
In 2003, during the Iraq War, American forces fought their way to within sight of the Baghdad skyline.
Ten years ago: Leaders of the world’s rich and major developing countries met at an emergency G-20 economic summit in London; afterward, President Barack Obama hailed agreements they had reached as a “turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery,” but cautioned, “there are no guarantees.” The House and Senate passed companion budget plans, giving President Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill a key victory. A 19-count federal racketeering indictment was returned against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY’-uh-vich); the ousted Democrat denied doing anything illegal.
Five years ago: The Supreme Court’s conservative majority voted 5-4 to free wealthy individuals to donate to as many political candidates and campaigns as they wanted, further loosening the reins on giving by big contributors. At Fort Hood in Texas, three soldiers were killed and 16 others were wounded in a shooting rampage by another soldier, Army Spc. Ivan A. Lopez, who then killed himself.
One year ago: Anti-apartheid activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who’d been married for nearly 38 years to Nelson Mandela, died in a Johannesburg hospital at the age of 81. Thousands of Oklahoma teachers began two weeks of walkouts and descended on the state Capitol to demand more education funding. Thousands of Kentucky teachers marched to the state Capitol to protest changes to their pension system; some districts that were not on spring break had to cancel classes. China raised import duties on $3 billion in U.S. products in an escalating dispute over trade and industrial policy. Ethan Couch, who as a 16-year-old driver drunkenly struck and killed four pedestrians but dodged prison after suggesting at his trial that his irresponsibility was a result of an entitled upbringing, went free after serving almost two years in a Texas jail on a probation violation. Villanova beat Michigan 79-62 to capture its second NCAA college basketball championship in three years.
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