This day in history

[April 09, 2013]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, April 9, the 99th day of 2013. There are 266 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On April 9, 1913, the first game was played at Ebbets Field, the newly built home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0.

On this date:

In 1413, the coronation of England's King Henry V took place in Westminster Abbey.

In 1682, French explorer Robert de La Salle claimed the Mississippi River Basin for France.

In 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

In 1939, singer Marian Anderson performed a concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

In 1942, during World War II, American and Philippine defenders on Bataan capitulated to Japanese forces; the surrender was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.

In 1947, a series of tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas claimed 181 lives.

In 1959, NASA presented its first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, 91, died in Phoenix, Ariz.

In 1963, British statesman Winston Churchill was proclaimed an honorary U.S. citizen by President John F. Kennedy. (Churchill, unable to attend, watched the proceedings live on television in his London home.)

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger ended its first mission with a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1993, the Rev. Benjamin Chavis was chosen to head the NAACP, succeeding Benjamin Hooks.

In 1996, in a dramatic shift of purse-string power, President Bill Clinton signed a line-item veto bill into law. (However, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the veto in 1998.)

In 2005, Britain's Prince Charles married longtime love Camilla Parker Bowles, who took the title Duchess of Cornwall.

Ten years ago: Jubilant Iraqis celebrated the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, beheading a toppled statue of their longtime ruler in downtown Baghdad and embracing American troops as liberators. In Afghanistan, a U.S. warplane called in to support allied Afghans under fire mistakenly bombed a house, killing 11 civilians.

Five years ago: America's war commander in Iraq faced Congress for a second day; Army Gen. David Petraeus told lawmakers he was unlikely to endorse any fresh buildup of troops even if security in the country were to deteriorate. The Olympic torch was rerouted away from thousands of demonstrators and spectators who had crowded San Francisco's waterfront to witness the flame's symbolic journey to the Beijing Games during its only North American stop.

One year ago: A Florida special prosecutor said a grand jury would not look into the Trayvon Martin case, leaving the decision of whether to charge the teen's shooter in her hands alone. (Prosecutor Angela Corey ended up filing second-degree murder charges against George Zimmerman, who pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense.) Olympic gold medal diver Mark Lenzi died in Greenville, N.C., at age 43.

Today's birthdays: Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is 87. Satirical songwriter and mathematician Tom Lehrer is 85. Naturalist Jim Fowler is 81. Actor Jean-Paul Belmondo is 80. Actress Michael Learned is 74. Country singer Margo Smith is 71. Country singer Hal Ketchum is 60. Actor Dennis Quaid is 59. Humorist Jimmy Tingle is 58. Country musician Dave Innis (Restless Heart) is 54. Actress-sports reporter Lisa Guerrero is 49. Actor Mark Pellegrino is 48. Actress-model Paulina Porizkova is 48. Actress Cynthia Nixon is 47. Rock singer Kevin Martin (Candlebox) is 44. Rock singer Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) is 36. Actress Keshia Knight Pulliam is 34. Rock musician Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes) is 33. Actor Charlie Hunnam is 33. Actor Ryan Northcott is 33. Actor Arlen Escarpeta is 32. Actor Jay Baruchel is 31. Actress Leighton Meester is 27. Actor-singer Jesse McCartney is 26. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jazmine Sullivan is 26. Actress Kristen Stewart is 23. Actress Elle Fanning is 15. Classical crossover singer Jackie Evancho (ee-VAYN'-koh) is 13.

Thought for today: "I believe in God, only I spell it Nature." -- Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)

[Associated Press]

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