Today In History
Today is Thursday, April 4, the 95th day of 2024. There are 271 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot and killed while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee; his slaying was followed by a wave of rioting. James Earl Ray later pleaded guilty to assassinating King, then spent the rest of his life claiming he’d been the victim of a setup.
ON THIS DATE
› 1865: President Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by his son Tad, visited the vanquished Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, where he was greeted by a crowd that included former slaves.
› 1917: The U.S. Senate voted 82-6 in favor of declaring war against Germany.
› 1949: Twelve nations, including the United States, signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
› 1973: The twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center were officially dedicated.
› 1983: The space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage. ›
2011: Yielding to political opposition, the Obama administration gave up on trying avowed September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators in civilian federal courts and said it would prosecute them instead before military commissions.
› 2018: Saying the situation had reached “a point of crisis,” President Donald Trump signed a proclamation directing the deployment of the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico border to fight illegal immigration.
› 2021: Stanford beat Arizona 54-53 to become NCAA women’s basketball champions.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Recording executive Clive Davis is 92. Author Kitty Kelley is
82. Actor Craig T. Nelson is 80. Actor Christine Lahti is 74. Country singer Steve Gatlin (The Gatlin Brothers) is 73. Actor Mary-Margaret Humes is 70. Writer-producer David E. Kelley is 68. Actor Constance Shulman is 66. Actor Hugo Weaving is 64. Talk show host/comic Graham Norton is 61. Actor David Cross is 60. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 59. Actor Barry Pepper is 54. Country singer Clay Davidson is 53. Rock singer Josh Todd (Buckcherry) is
53. Singer Jill Scott is 52. Rock musician Magnus Sveningsson (The Cardigans) is 52. Magician David Blaine is 51. Singer Kelly Price is 51. R&B singer Andre Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 50. Country musician Josh McSwain (Parmalee) is 49. Actor James Roday is 48. Actor Natasha Lyonne is 45. Actor Eric Andre is 41. Actor-singer Jamie Lynn Spears is 33. Actor Daniela Bobadilla is 31. Pop singer Austin Mahone is 28. Actor Aliyah Royale is 24.