 Today's highlight in history:
On April 23, 1789, President-elect George Washington and his wife,
Martha, moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House,
in New York.
On this date:
In 1616, English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare, 52, died on
what has been traditionally regarded as the anniversary of his birth
in 1564.
In 1791, the 15th president of the United States, James Buchanan,
was born in Franklin County, Pa.
In 1910, former President Theodore Roosevelt delivered his famous
"Man in the Arena" speech at the Sorbonne in Paris.
In 1940, about 200 people died in the Rhythm Night Club Fire in
Natchez, Miss.
In 1954, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his
record 755 major-league home runs in a game against the St. Louis
Cardinals. (The Braves won, 7-5.)
In 1961, Judy Garland performed her legendary concert at New York's
Carnegie Hall.
In 1962, NASA launched Ranger 4 on a mission to the moon. (The
spacecraft was supposed to transmit pictures and data just before
crashing into the lunar surface three days later; however, due to
equipment malfunction, no data was sent.)
In 1968, student protesters began occupying buildings on the campus
of Columbia University in New York; police put down the protests a
week later.
In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New
York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (The sentence was later reduced to life
imprisonment.)
In 1987, 28 construction workers were killed when an apartment
complex being built in Bridgeport, Conn., suddenly collapsed.
In 1992, McDonald's opened its first fast-food restaurant in the
Chinese capital of Beijing.
In 2005, website YouTube uploaded its first video, titled "Me at the
Zoo," consisting of 18 seconds of co-founder Jawed Karim standing in
front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.
Ten years ago: American cardinals opened an extraordinary
meeting with top Vatican officials to discuss a sex abuse scandal
rocking the Roman Catholic Church in the United States; Pope John
Paul II told the American church leaders there was no room in the
priesthood "for those who would harm the young." President George W.
Bush's top White House aide, Karen Hughes, resigned to return home
to Texas with her family.
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Five years ago: Boris Yeltsin, the first freely elected
Russian president, died in Moscow at age 76. Congressional
Democratic leaders agreed on legislation requiring the first U.S.
combat troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by Oct. 1, 2007, with a goal
of a complete pullout six months later; President George W. Bush
pledged to veto such a measure. Classes at Virginia Tech resumed one
week after the killings of 32 victims by a suicidal gunman. Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist and author David Halberstam died in a car
crash in Menlo Park, Calif., at age 73.
One year ago: Yemen's embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh
(AH'-lee ahb-DUH'-luh sah-LEH'), agreed to a proposal by Gulf Arab
mediators to step down within 30 days and hand power to his deputy
in exchange for immunity from prosecution. (Saleh ended up leaving
office in February 2012.) Former Sony Corp. president and chairman
Norio Ohga, credited with developing the compact disc, died in Tokyo
at age 81.
Today's birthdays: Actress-turned-diplomat Shirley Temple
Black is 84. Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 82. Actor David Birney is 73.
Actor Lee Majors is 73. Irish nationalist Bernadette Devlin
McAliskey is 65. Actress Blair Brown is 64. Writer-director Paul
Brickman is 63. Actress Joyce DeWitt is 63. Actor James Russo is 59.
Filmmaker-author Michael Moore is 58. Actress Judy Davis is 57.
Actress Jan Hooks is 55. Actress Valerie Bertinelli is 52. Actor
Craig Sheffer is 52. Actor George Lopez is 51. Rock musician Gen is
48. U.S. Olympic gold medal skier Donna Weinbrecht is 47. Actress
Melina Kanakaredes (kah-nah-KAH'-ree-deez) is 45. Rock musician Stan
Frazier (Sugar Ray) is 44. Country musician Tim Womack (Sons of the
Desert) is 44. Actor Scott Bairstow (BEHR'-stow) is 42. Actor Barry
Watson is 38. Actor Kal Penn is 35. MLB All-Star Andruw Jones is 35.
Actress Jaime King is 33. Pop singer Taio Cruz is 29. Actor Aaron
Hill is 29. Actress Rachel Skarsten is 27. Tennis player Nicole
Vaidisova (vay-deh-SOH'-vuh) is 23. Actor Dev Patel (puh-TEHL') ("Slumdog
Millionaire") is 22. Actor Matthew Underwood is 22. Actor Camryn
Walling is 22.
Thought for today: "What is fame? The advantage of being
known by people of whom you yourself know nothing, and for whom you
care as little." -- Lord Byron, English poet (1788-1824)
[Associated Press]
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