TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Tuesday, April 11, the 101st day of 2017. There are 264 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History:
On April 11, 1947, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers played in an exhibition against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field, four days before his regular-season debut that broke baseball’s color line. (The Dodgers won, 14-6.) “Monsieur Verdoux,” Charlie Chaplin’s dark comedy about a Bluebeard-like figure, received a hostile reception at its premiere in New York. On this date: In 1689, William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain. In 1921, Iowa became the first state to impose a cigarette tax, at 2 cents a package. In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in Germany. In 1970, Apollo 13, with astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert, blasted off on its ill-fated mission to the moon. In 1979, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control.
Ten years ago: North Carolina’s top prosecutor dropped all charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party, saying the athletes were innocent victims of a “tragic rush to accuse.”
Five years ago: A California prison panel denied parole to mass murderer Charles Manson in his 12th bid for freedom.
One year ago: Secretary of State John Kerry visited the memorial to Hiroshima’s atomic bombing, delivering a message of peace and hope for a nuclear-free world.
Today’s Birthdays: Ethel Kennedy is 89. Actor Joel Grey is 85. Actress Louise Lasser is 78. Pulitzer Prizewinning columnist Ellen Goodman is 76. Movie writer-director John Milius is 73. Actor Peter Riegert is
70. Movie director Carl Franklin is
68. Actor Bill Irwin is 67. Country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 60. Songwriter-producer Daryl Simmons is 60. Rock musician Nigel Pulsford is 56. Actor Lucky Vanous is 56. Country singer Steve Azar is 53. Singer Lisa Stansfield is 51. Rock musician Dylan Keefe (Marcy Playground) is 47. Actor Johnny Messner is 47. Actor Vicellous Shannon is 46. Rapper David Banner is 43. Actress Tricia Helfer is 43. Rock musician Chris Gaylor (The All-American Rejects) is 38. Actress Kelli Garner is 33. Singer Joss Stone is 30. Actress-dancer Kaitlyn Jenkins is 25.
Thought for Today: “We think in generalities, but we live in detail.”—Alfred North Whitehead, British philosopher (1861-1947).