TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Monday, April 1, the 92nd day of 2024. There are 274 days left in the year. This is April Fool’s Day.

Today’s Highlights in History:

On April 1, 1972, the first Major League Baseball players’ strike began; it lasted 12 days. Twenty years later, on April 1, 1992, the National Hockey League Players’ Association went on its first-ever strike, which lasted 10 days.

On this date:

In 1945, American forces launched the amphibious invasion of Okinawa during World War II. (U.S. forces succeeded in capturing the Japanese island on June 22.)

In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and television, to take effect after Jan. 1, 1971.

In 1976, Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.

In 2003, American troops entered a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, and rescued Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed on March 23.

In 2020, resisting calls to issue a national stay-at-home order, President Donald Trump said he wanted to give governors “flexibility” to respond to the coronavirus. Under growing pressure, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined his counterparts in more than 30 states in issuing a stay-athome order.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Ali MacGraw is 85. R&B singer Rudolph Isley is 85. Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff is 76. Rock musician Billy Currie (Ultravox) is 74. Actor Annette O’Toole is 72. Singer Susan Boyle is 63. Actor Jose Zuniga is 62. Country singer Woody Lee is 56. Actor Jessica Collins is 53. Political commentator Rachel Maddow is 51. Actor JJ Feild is 46. Singer Bijou Phillips is 44. Actor Matt Lanter is 41. Actor Josh Zuckerman is 39.