TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, APRIL 23, the 113th day of 2021. There are 252 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.)
In 1616 (Old Style calendar), English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon on what has traditionally been regarded as the 52nd anniversary of his birth in 1564.
In 1789, President-elect George Washington and his wife, Martha, moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House, in New York.
In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States, which responded in kind two days later.
In 1943, U.S. Navy Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy assumed command of PT-109, a motor torpedo boat, in the Solomon Islands during World War II. (On Aug. 2, 1943, PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, killing two crew members; Kennedy and 10 others survived.)
In 1954, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 majorleague home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (The Braves won, 7-5.)
In 1987, 28 construction workers were killed when an apartment complex being built in Bridgeport, Connecticut, suddenly collapsed.
In 1988, a federal ban on smoking during domestic airline flights of two hours or less went into effect.
In 1993, labor leader Cesar Chavez died in San Luis, Arizona, at age 66.
In 1998, James Earl Ray, who confessed to assassinating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and then insisted he’d been framed, died at a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital at age 70.
In 2005, the recently created videosharing website YouTube uploaded its first clip, “Me at the Zoo,” which showed YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 91. Actors David Birney and Lee Majors are 82. Hockey Hallof-Famer Tony Esposito is 78. Actor James Russo is 68. Filmmaker-author Michael Moore is 67. Actor Judy Davis is 66. Actors Valerie Bertinelli and Craig Sheffer are 61. Actor-comedian-talk show host George Lopez is 60. U.S. Olympic gold medal skier Donna Weinbrecht is 56. Actor-writer John Lutz is 48. Actor Barry Watson is 47. Rock musicians Aaron Dessner (The National) and Bryce Dessner (The National) are 45. Professional wrestler/actor John Cena, actor-writer-comedian John Oliver, actor Kal Penn and retired MLB All-Star Andruw Jones are 44. Actor Jaime King is 42. Pop singer Taio Cruz and actor Aaron Hill are 38. Actor Jesse Lee Soffer is 37. Actor Rachel Skarsten is 36. Model Gigi Hadid is 26. Rock musicians Jake and Josh Kiszka (Greta Van Fleet), actor Charlie Rowe (TV: “Salvation”) and tennis player Ashleigh Barty are 25. U.S. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Chloe Kim is 21.