This day in history

[April 21, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, April 21, the 111th day of 2010. There are 254 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On April 21, 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Conn., at age 74.

On this date:

In 1509, England's King Henry VII died; he was succeeded by his 17-year-old son, Henry VIII.

In 1649, the Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly.

In 1789, John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States.

In 1836, an army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring Texas independence.

In 1918, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German ace known as the "Red Baron," was killed in action during World War I.

In 1930, a fire broke out inside the overcrowded Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus, killing 332 inmates.

In 1940, the quiz show that asked the "$64 question," "Take It or Leave It," premiered on CBS Radio.

In 1960, Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro.

In 1975, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned after ten years in office.

In 1980, Rosie Ruiz was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon; however, she was later exposed as a fraud. (Canadian Jacqueline Gareau was named the actual winner of the women's race.)

Ten years ago: The lower house of the Russian parliament overwhelmingly approved the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Five years ago: A commercial helicopter contracted by the U.S. Defense Department was shot down by missile fire north of Baghdad; eleven people, including six American bodyguards, were killed. Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar was convicted by a military jury at Fort Bragg, N.C. of premeditated murder and attempted murder in an attack that killed two of his comrades and wounded 14 others in Kuwait. (He was later sentenced to death.) Zhang Chunqiao (jahng chuhn-kee-OW'), one of the Gang of Four that terrorized China during the Cultural Revolution, died at age 88.

One year ago: Calling on Americans to volunteer, President Barack Obama signed a $5.7 billion national service bill tripling the size of the AmeriCorps service program. The sole survivor of a pirate attack on an American cargo ship off the Somali coast was charged as an adult with piracy in federal court in New York. (A prosecutor said Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse had given wildly varying ages for himself before finally admitting he was 18.)

Today's birthdays: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is 84. Actress-comedian-writer Elaine May is 78. Actor Charles Grodin is 75. Singer-musician Iggy Pop is 63. Actress Patti LuPone is 61. Actor Tony Danza is 59. Actress Andie MacDowell is 52. Rock singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 51. Rock musician Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 51. Actor John Cameron Mitchell is 47. Rapper Michael Franti (Spearhead) is 44. Rock singer-musician Glen Hansard (The Frames) is 40. Comedian Nicole Sullivan is 40. Rock musician David Brenner (Theory of a Deadman) is 32. Actor James McAvoy is 31.

Thought for today: "I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year (1910), and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.'" -- Mark Twain (1835-1910)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.