TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, April 6, the 96th day of 2018. There are 269 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History

On April 6, 1968, 41 people were killed by two consecutive natural gas explosions at a sporting goods store in downtown Richmond, Indiana.

On this date

1830 — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized by Joseph Smith in Fayette, New York. 1862 — The Civil War Battle of Shiloh began in Tennessee as Confederate forces launched a surprise attack against Union troops, who beat back the Confederates the next day. 1896 — The first modern Olympic games formally opened in Athens, Greece. 1909 — American explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson and four Inuits became the first men to reach the North Pole. 1965 — The United States launched Intelsat I, also known as the “Early Bird” communications satellite, into geosynchronous orbit. 1971 — Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky, 88, died in New York City. 1988 — Tirza Porat, a 15-year-old Israeli girl, was killed in a West Bank melee. (Although Arabs were initially blamed, the army concluded Tirza had been accidentally shot by a Jewish settler.) 1998 — The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 9,000 points for the first time, ending the day at 9,033.23.

One year ago

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping opened a two-day summit at Trump’s Florida beach resort.

Today’s Birthdays

Nobel Prize-winning scientist James D. Watson is 90. Composer-conductor Andre Previn is 89. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 81. Actor Roy Thinnes is 80. Movie director Barry Levinson is 76. Actor John Ratzenberger is 71. Actress Patrika Darbo is 70. Baseball Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven is 67. Actress Marilu Henner is 66. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Janet Lynn is 65. Actor Michael Rooker is 63. Former U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., is 62. Rock musician Warren Haynes is 58. Rock singer-musician Frank Black is 53. Actress Ari Meyers is 49. Actor Paul Rudd is 49. Actor-producer Jason Hervey is 46. Rock musician Markku Lappalainen is 45. Actor Zach Braff is 43. Actor Joel Garland is 43. Actress Candace Cameron Bure is 42. Actor Teddy Sears is 41. Jazz and rhythm-and-blues musician Robert Glasper is 40. Actress Eliza Coupe is 37. Folk singer-musician Kenneth Pattengale (Milk Carton Kids) is 36. Actor Bret Harrison is 36. Actor Charlie McDermott is 28.