This day in history

[April 13, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Monday, April 13, the 103rd day of 2009. There are 262 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On April 13, 1743, the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was born in Shadwell, Va.

On this date:

In 1598, King Henry IV of France endorsed the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to the Protestant Huguenots. (The edict was abrogated in 1685 by King Louis XIV, who declared France entirely Catholic again.)

In 1742, Handel's "Messiah" was first performed publicly in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York. (The original museum opened in 1872.)

In 1909, author Eudora Welty was born in Jackson, Miss.

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial.

In 1958, American pianist Van Cliburn, 23, won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for "Lilies of the Field."

In 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)

In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in the first recorded papal visit of its kind to a Jewish house of worship.

In 1992, the Great Chicago Flood took place as the city's century-old tunnel system and adjacent basements filled with water from the Chicago River.

Ten years ago: Right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for second-degree murder in the lethal injection of a Lou Gehrig's disease patient. (Kevorkian ended up serving eight years.)

Five years ago: Conceding a couple of "tough weeks in Iraq," President George W. Bush signaled he was ready to put more American troops on the front lines and use decisive force if necessary to restore order despite "gut-wrenching" televised images of fallen Americans. Barry Bonds hit his 661st homer, passing Willie Mays to take sole possession of third place on baseball's career list. Swimmer Michael Phelps won the 2003 Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete.

One year ago: World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged immediate action to deal with mounting food prices that had caused hunger and deadly violence in several countries. Trevor Immelman won the Masters, becoming the first South African to wear a green jacket in 30 years. A construction worker's bid to curse the New York Yankees by planting a Boston Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot. Physicist John A. Wheeler, who coined the term "black holes," died in Hightstown, N.J., at age 96.

Today's birthdays: Movie director Stanley Donen is 85. Former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., is 76. Actor Lyle Waggoner is 74. Actor Edward Fox is 72. Playwright Lanford Wilson is 72. Actor Paul Sorvino is 70. Movie and TV composer Bill Conti is 67. Rock musician Jack Casady is 65. Actor Tony Dow is 64. Singer Al Green is 63. Actor Ron Perlman is 59. Actor William Sadler is 59. Singer Peabo Bryson is 58. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" bandleader/rock musician Max Weinberg is 58. Bluegrass singer-musician Sam Bush is 57. Rock musician Jimmy Destri is 55. Singer-musician Louis Johnson (The Brothers Johnson) is 54. Comedian Gary Kroeger is 52. Actress Saundra Santiago is 52. Rock musician Joey Mazzola (Sponge) is 48. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is 46. Actress Page Hannah is 45. Actress-comedian Caroline Rhea is 45. Rock musician Lisa Umbarger is 44. Rock musician Marc Ford is 43. Reggae singer Capleton is 42. Actor Ricky Schroder is 39. Rock singer Aaron Lewis (Staind) is 37. Actor Bokeem Woodbine is 36. Singer Lou Bega is 34. Actor-producer Glenn Howerton is 33. Basketball player Baron Davis is 30. Actress Courtney Peldon is 28. Pop singer Nellie McKay is 27.

Thought for today: "The excursion is the same when you go looking for your sorrow as when you go looking for your joy." -- Eudora Welty, American author (1909-2001)

[Associated Press]

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