Today In History

Today is Friday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2021. There are 273 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1792: Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.

ON THIS DATE

› 1865: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, because of advancing Union forces.

› 1917: President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Congress declared war four days later.)

› 1968: “2001: A Space Odyssey,” had its world premiere in Washington, D.C.

› 2002: Israel seized control of Bethlehem; Palestinian gunmen forced their way into the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, where they began a 39-day standoff.

› 2003: During the Iraq War, American forces fought their way to within sight of the Baghdad skyline.

› 2007: In its first case on climate change, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Massachusetts v. Environmental

Protection Agency, ruled 5-4 that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

› 2019: Former federal prosecutor Lori Lightfoot won the runoff election for Chicago mayor, becoming the first Black woman and the first openly gay person to lead the nation’s third-largest city.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Sharon Acker is

86. Actor Dame Penelope Keith is 81. Actor Linda Hunt is 76. Singer Emmylou Harris is 74. Actor Sam Anderson is 74. Social critic and author Camille Paglia is 74. Actor Pamela Reed is 72. Actor Christopher Meloni is

60. Singer Keren Woodward (Bananarama) is

60. Country singer Billy Dean is 59. Actor Clark Gregg is 59. Actor Jana Marie Hupp is 57. Rock musician Greg Camp is

54. Actor Roselyn Sanchez is 48. Country singer Jill King is 46. Actor Jaime Ray Newman is 43. Rock musician Jesse Carmichael (Maroon 5) is 42. Actor Bethany Joy Lenz is 40. Singer Lee Dewyze (TV: “American Idol”) is

35. Country singer Chris Janson is 35. Actor Drew Van Acker is 35. Actor Jesse Plemons is 33. Singer Aaron Kelly (TV: “American Idol”) is 28.