This day in history

[April 20, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Monday, April 20, the 110th day of 2009. There are 255 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

Ten years ago, on April 20, 1999, the Columbine High School massacre took place in Colorado as two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 12 classmates and one teacher before taking their own lives.

On this date:

In 1812, the fourth vice president of the United States, George Clinton, died in Washington at age 72, becoming the first vice president to die while in office.

In 1836, Congress voted to establish the Wisconsin Territory.

In 1889, Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria.

In 1945, during World War II, allied forces took control of the German cities of Nuremberg and Stuttgart.

In 1949, scientists at the Mayo Clinic announced they'd succeeded in synthesizing a hormone found to be useful in treating rheumatoid arthritis; the substance was named "cortisone."

In 1968, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister of Canada.

In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, unanimously upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.

In 1972, the manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.

In 1978, a Korean Air Lines Boeing 707 crash-landed in northwestern Russia after being fired on by a Soviet interceptor after entering Soviet airspace. Two passengers were killed.

In 1988, gunmen who'd hijacked a Kuwait Airways jumbo jet were allowed safe passage out of Algeria under an agreement that freed the remaining 31 hostages and ended a 15-day siege in which two passengers were slain.

Five years ago: A tornado tore through north-central Illinois, killing eight people. A judge ordered Multnomah County, Ore., to stop issuing gay marriage licenses -- but also ordered the state to recognize the 3,000 licenses already granted in the county.

One year ago: Before a full house at Yankee Stadium, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his final Mass in the United States, blessing his enormous U.S. flock and telling Americans to use their freedoms wisely. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice mocked anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as a coward during a visit to Iraq. Danica Patrick became the first female winner in IndyCar history, capturing the Indy Japan 300 in her 50th career start.

Today's birthdays: Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is 89. Actor Leslie Phillips is 85. Actor George Takei is 72. Singer Johnny Tillotson is 70. Actor Ryan O'Neal is 68. Bluegrass singer-musician Doyle Lawson (Quicksilver) is 65. Rock musician Craig Frost (Grand Funk; Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band) is 61. Actor Gregory Itzin is 61. Actress Jessica Lange is 60. Actress Veronica Cartwright is 60. Actor Clint Howard is 50. Actor Crispin Glover is 45. Country singer Wade Hayes is 40. Actor Shemar Moore is 39. Rock musician Mikey Welsh is 38. Actress Carmen Electra is 37. Reggae singer Stephen Marley is 37. Rock musician Marty Crandall (The Shins) is 34. Actor Joey Lawrence is 33. Country musician Clay Cook (Zac Brown Band) is 31.

Thought for today: "If anyone tells you something strange about the world, something you had never heard before, do not laugh but listen attentively; make him repeat it, make him explain it; no doubt there is something there worth taking hold of." -- Georges Duhamel, French author (1884-1966)

[Associated Press]

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