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Today in History

Staff
Thursday April 04, 2002

Today is Thursday, April 4, the 94th day of 2002. There are 271 days left in the year. 

 

Highlight in History: 

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn. 

 

On this date: 

In 1818, Congress decided the flag of the United States would consist of 13 red-and-white stripes and 20 stars, with a new star to be added for every new state of the Union. 

In 1841, President William Henry Harrison succumbed to pneumonia one month after his inaugural, becoming the first U.S. chief executive to die in office. 

In 1850, the city of Los Angeles was incorporated. 

In 1887, Susanna Medora Salter became the first woman elected mayor of an American community — Argonia, Kan. 

In 1902, 100 years ago, British financier Cecil Rhodes left $10 million in his will to provide scholarships for Americans at Oxford University. 

In 1945, during World War II, U.S. forces liberated the Nazi death camp Ohrdruf in Germany. 

In 1949, 12 nations, including the United States, signed the North Atlantic Treaty. 

In 1975, more than 130 people, most of them children, were killed when a U.S. Air Force transport plane evacuating Vietnamese orphans crashed shortly after take-off from Saigon. 

In 1981, Henry Cisneros became the first Mexican-American elected mayor of a major U.S. city — San Antonio, Texas. 

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage. 

Ten years ago: His campaign acknowledged that Bill Clinton had received an induction notice in April 1969 while attending college in Oxford, England; Clinton said the notice arrived after he was due to report, and that his local draft board had told him he could complete the school term. 

Five years ago: Space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral on what was supposed to have been a 16-day mission; however, a defective power generator forced the shuttle’s return four days later. 

One year ago: Chinese President Jiang Zemin demanded the United States apologize for the collision between a U.S. Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet; the Bush administration offered a chorus of regrets, but no apology.  

 

Today’s Birthdays: Singer-actress Frances Langford is 88. Composer Elmer Bernstein is 80. Actress Elizabeth Wilson is 77. Author-poet Maya Angelou is 74. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is 70. Recording executive Clive Davis is 70. Actor Michael Parks is 64. Bandleader Hugh Masekela is 63. Author Kitty Kelley is 60. Actor Craig T. Nelson is 58. Actor Walter Charles is 57. Actress Caroline McWilliams is 57. Actress Christine Lahti is 52. Country singer Steve Gatlin (The Gatlin Brothers) is 51. Writer-producer David E. Kelley is 46. Actor Phil Morris is 43. 

\Actress Lorraine Toussaint is 42. Rock musician Craig Adams (The Cult) is 40. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 37. Actress Nancy McKeon is 36. Actor Barry Pepper is 32. Country singer Clay Davidson is 31. Singer Jill Scott is 30. Rock musician Magnus Sveningsson (The Cardigans) is 30. Magician David Blaine is 29. Singer Kelly Price is 29. Rhythm-and-blues singer Andre Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 28. Actor Heath Ledger is 23. Actress Natasha Lyonne is 23. 

Thought for Today: “A man is only as good as what he loves.” — Saul Bellow, American author. 

For release Thursday, April 4