This day in history

[April 20, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Monday, April 5, the 95th day of 2010. There are 270 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On April 5, 1792, George Washington cast the first presidential veto, rejecting a congressional measure for apportioning representatives among the states.

On this date:

In 1614, Pocahontas, daughter of the leader of the Powhatan tribe, married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia. (A convert to Christianity, she went by the name Lady Rebecca.)

In 1621, the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts on a monthlong return trip to England.

In 1887, in Tuscumbia, Ala., teacher Anne Sullivan achieved a breakthrough as her blind and deaf pupil, Helen Keller, learned the meaning of the word "water" as spelled out in the Manual Alphabet. British historian Lord Acton wrote in a letter, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

In 1895, Oscar Wilde lost his criminal libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry, who'd accused the writer of homosexual practices.

In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death following their conviction in New York on charges of conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union; co-defendant Morton Sobell was sentenced to 30 years in prison (he was released in 1969).

In 1964, Army General Douglas MacArthur died in Washington at age 84.

In 1975, nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek died at age 87.

In 1976, reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes died in Houston at age 70.

In 1986, two American servicemen and a Turkish woman were killed in the bombing of a West Berlin discotheque, an incident which prompted a U.S. air raid on Libya more than a week later.

In 1988, a 15-day hijacking ordeal began as gunmen forced a Kuwait Airways jumbo jet to land in Iran.

Ten years ago: Ending a two-year investigation, an independent counsel cleared Labor Secretary Alexis Herman of allegations that she'd solicited $250,000 in illegal campaign contributions. Yoshiro Mori (yoh-shee-roh moh-ree) took over as Japan's new prime minister, succeeding Keizo Obuchi (kay-zoh oh-boo-chee), who'd been felled by a stroke.

Five years ago: ABC News anchorman Peter Jennings revealed he had lung cancer (he died in Aug. 2005 at age 67). Nobel Prize-winning author Saul Bellow died in Brookline, Mass., at age 89. Dale Messick, creator of the long-running comic strip "Brenda Starr, Reporter," died at age 98.

One year ago: North Korea fired a rocket over Japan, defying Washington, Tokyo and others who suspected the launch was a cover for a test of its long-range missile technology. President Barack Obama, visiting Prague, launched an effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons, calling them "the most dangerous legacy of the Cold War." The Pentagon quietly lifted an 18-year ban on media coverage of fallen U.S. service members.

Today's birthdays: Movie producer Roger Corman is 84. Country music producer Cowboy Jack Clement is 79. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell is 73. Country singer Tommy Cash is 70. Actor Michael Moriarty is 69. Pop singer Allan Clarke (The Hollies) is 68. Writer-director Peter Greenaway is 68. Actor Max Gail is 67. Actress Jane Asher is 64. Singer Agnetha (ag-NEE'-tah) Faltskog (ABBA) is 60. Actor Mitch Pileggi is 58. Rock musician Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) is 44. Country singer Troy Gentry is 43. Singer Paula Cole is 42. Actress Krista Allen is 39. Country singer Pat Green is 38. Rapper-producer Pharrell (fa-REHL') Williams is 37.

Thought for today: "A man is only as good as what he loves." -- Saul Bellow, Canadian-born American author (1915-2005)

[Associated Press]

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