Today in history

On April 21, 1649, the Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly.

In 1789 John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States.

In 1816 Charlotte Bronte, author of “Jane Eyre,” was born in Thornton, England.

In 1836, with the battle cry of “Remember the Alamo,” Texans led by Gen. Sam Houston defeated a Mexican army at San Jacinto, assuring Texas' independence.

In 1838 naturalist and author John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland. (After coming to the U.S. in 1849, he became a noted conservationist who fought for establishment of national parks.)

In 1864 sociologist and economist Max Weber was born in Erfurt, Germany.

In 1910 Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as author Mark Twain, died in Redding, Conn.; he was 74.

In 1915 actor Anthony Quinn was born in Chihuahua, Mexico.

In 1918 Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German ace known as the “Red Baron,” was killed in action during World War I.

In 1926 Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, who would become Queen Elizabeth II, was born in London.

In 1940 the quiz show that asked the “$64 question,” “Take It or Leave It,” premiered on CBS Radio. In 1955 the Jerome Lawrence-Robert Lee play “Inherit the Wind,” loosely based on the Scopes trial of 1925, opened at the National Theatre in New York.

In 1960 Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro.

In 1977 the musical play “Annie” opened on Broadway.