 Today's highlight in history:
On April 12, 1862, during the Civil War, Union volunteers led by
James J. Andrews stole a Confederate locomotive near Marietta, Ga.,
and headed toward Chattanooga, Tenn., on a mission to sabotage as
much of the rail line as they could; the raiders were caught, and
eight of them, Andrews included, were executed as spies. (The raid
inspired the 1926 Buster Keaton silent comedy "The General.")
On this date:
In 1606, England's King James I decreed the design of the original
Union Flag, which combined the flags of England and Scotland.
In 1811, fur traders employed by John Jacob Astor began building
Fort Astoria in present-day Oregon.
In 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces opened
fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. (The Union troops holding the
fort surrendered the following day.) 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 1912, Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, died
in Glen Echo, Md., at age 90.
In 1934, "Tender Is the Night," by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first
published in book form after being serialized in Scribner's
Magazine.
In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral
hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice
President Harry S. Truman.
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 1981, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral
on its first test flight. Former world heavyweight boxing champion
Joe Louis died in Las Vegas, Nev., at age 66.
In 1985, Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, became the first sitting member of
Congress to fly in space as the shuttle Discovery lifted off.
In 1992, after five years in the making, Euro Disneyland opened in
Marne-La-Vallee, France, amid controversy as French intellectuals
bemoaned the invasion of American pop culture.
Ten years ago: Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law ignored growing
demands for his resignation because of sex abuse allegations against
priests that began in his archdiocese and spread across the country.
(Law ended up resigning in December 2002.) Secretary of State Colin
Powell's trip to Middle East was marred by a suicide bombing in
Jerusalem that claimed six victims; the White House put on hold
Powell's meeting with Yasser Arafat scheduled for the next day (the
meeting took place a day later). Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
resigned under pressure from the country's divided military
(however, he was returned to office two days later).
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Five years ago: A suicide bomber breached security in Iraq's
parliament and blew himself up in the dining hall; a Sunni
parliament member was killed. CBS fired Don Imus from his radio
program for insulting the Rutgers women's basketball team on the
air; in the evening, Imus met with team members at the New Jersey
governor's mansion in Princeton (Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who was en
route to that meeting, was seriously injured when his official
vehicle crashed).
One year ago: Japan ranked its nuclear crisis at the highest
possible severity on an international scale -- the same level as the
1986 Chernobyl disaster -- even as it insisted radiation leaks were
declining at its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant. The state of Ohio
executed two-time murderer Clarence Carter for beating and stomping
to death a fellow jail inmate. Booming cannons, plaintive period
music and hushed crowds ushered in the 150th anniversary of the
start of the Civil War during morning ceremonies in Charleston, S.C.
Today's birthdays: Country singer Ned Miller is 87. Actress
Jane Withers is 86. Opera singer Montserrat Caballe is 79.
Playwright Alan Ayckbourn (AYK'-bohrn) is 73. Jazz musician Herbie
Hancock is 72. Actor Frank Bank ("Leave It to Beaver") is 70. Rock
singer John Kay (Steppenwolf) is 68. Actor Ed O'Neill is 66. Author
Tom Clancy is 65. Actor Dan Lauria is 65. Talk show host David
Letterman is 65. Author Scott Turow is 63. Singer David Cassidy is
62. Actor-playwright Tom Noonan is 61. Rhythm-and-blues singer JD
Nicholas (The Commodores) is 60. Singer Pat Travers is 58. Actor
Andy Garcia is 56. Movie director Walter Salles (SAL'-ihs) is 56.
Country singer Vince Gill is 55. Actress Suzzanne (cq) Douglas is
55. Rock musician Will Sergeant (Echo & the Bunnymen) is 54. Rock
singer Art Alexakis (al-ex-AH'-kis) (Everclear) is 50. Country
singer Deryl Dodd is 48. Folk-pop singer Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) is
48. Actress Alicia Coppola is 44. Rock singer Nicholas Hexum (311)
is 42. Actor Nicholas Brendon is 41. Actress Shannen Doherty is 41.
Actress Marley Shelton is 38. Actress Sarah Jane Morris is 35.
Actress Jordana Spiro is 35. Rock musician Guy Berryman (Coldplay)
is 34. Actress Claire Danes is 33. Actress Jennifer Morrison is 33.
Contemporary Christian musician Joe Rickard (Red) is 25. Rock
singer-musician Brendon Urie (Panic! at the Disco) is 25. Actress
Saoirse (SUR'-shuh) Ronan is 18.
Thought for today: "The surest test of discipline is its
absence." -- Clara Barton (1821-1912)
[Associated Press]
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