In 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. (AP Photo)
In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia, at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman. Here, New York State Police guard the grave of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on his estate at Hyde Park, N.Y. following his funeral. (AP Photo)
In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective. In this 1955 file photo, Dr. Jonas Salk, developer of the polio vaccine, describes how the vaccine is made and tested in his laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh. (AP Photo)
In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing. Here, Gagarin waves after he arrived at the London Airport in 19611 for a private visit as the guest of the Russian Trade fair. (AP Photo)
In 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, charged with contempt of court and parading without a permit. (During his time behind bars, King wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”) Here, a police officer holds King by his belt as he leads him to the paddy wagon following his arrest. (AP Photo)
Today is Friday, April 12, the 102nd day of 2019.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On April 12, 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia, at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.
On this date:
In 1776, North Carolina’s Fourth Provincial Congress authorized the colony’s delegates to the Continental Congress to support independence from Britain.
In 1861, the Civil War began as Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
In 1862, Union volunteers stole a Confederate locomotive near Marietta, Georgia, and headed toward Chattanooga, Tennessee, on a mission to sabotage as much of the rail line as they could; the raiders were caught.
In 1877, the catcher’s mask was first used in a baseball game by James Tyng of Harvard in a game against the Lynn Live Oaks.
In 1934, “Tender Is the Night,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first published in book form after being serialized in Scribner’s Magazine.
In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.
In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing.
In 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, charged with contempt of court and parading without a permit. (During his time behind bars, King wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”)
In 1988, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a patent to Harvard University for a genetically engineered mouse, the first time a patent was granted for an animal life form.
In 1989, former boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson died in Culver City, California, at age 67; radical activist Abbie Hoffman was found dead at his home in New Hope, Pennsylvania, at age 52.
In 1990, in its first meeting, East Germany’s first democratically elected parliament acknowledged responsibility for the Nazi Holocaust, and asked the forgiveness of Jews and others who had suffered.
In 2006, jurors in the Zacarias Moussaoui (zak-uh-REE’-uhs moo-SOW’-ee) trial listened to a recording of shouts and cries in the cockpit as desperate passengers twice charged hijackers during the final half hour of doomed United Flight 93 on 9/11.
Ten years ago: American cargo ship captain Richard Phillips was rescued from Somali pirates by U.S. Navy snipers who shot and killed three of the hostage-takers. Angel Cabrera became the first Argentine to win the Masters. Actress Marilyn Chambers, who’d starred in the 1972 adult film “Behind the Green Door,” was found dead at her home in Canyon Country, California, 10 days before her 57th birthday.
Five years ago: The policy-setting panel of the 188-nation International Monetary Fund concluded a meeting in Washington by expressing confidence that the global economy finally had turned the corner to stronger growth. Devastating wildfires erupted in the hills of Valparaiso, Chile, killing 15 people and destroying nearly 3,000 homes.
One year ago: Police in Philadelphia arrested two black men at a Starbucks; the men had been asked to leave after one of them was denied access to the restroom. (Starbucks apologized and, weeks later, closed thousands of stores for part of the day to conduct anti-bias training.) Carl Ferrer, the chief executive of Backpage.com, which authorities described as an “online brothel,” pleaded guilty to California and federal charges including conspiracy and money laundering, and agreed to testify against others at the website. Schoolteachers in Oklahoma ended two weeks of walkouts, shifting their focus to electing pro-education candidates. The Screen Actors Guild issued new guidelines calling for an end to auditions and professional meetings in private hotel rooms and residences in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
