TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Wednesday, April 19, the 109th day of 2017. There are 256 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History: On April 19, 1967, Former West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer died at age 91. On this date:

In 1775, the American Revolutionary War began with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

In 1897, the first Boston Marathon was held; winner John J. McDermott ran the course in two hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds.

In 1943, during World War II, tens of thousands of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto began a valiant but ultimately futile battle against Nazi forces.

In 1951, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, relieved of his Far East command by President Harry S. Truman, bade farewell in an address to Congress in which he quoted a line from a ballad: “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.”

Ten years ago: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid offered a bleak assessment of Iraq, saying the war was “lost,” triggering an angry backlash by Republicans.

Five years ago: India announced the successful test launch of a new nuclear-capable missile.

One year ago: Front-runners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton swept to resounding victories in New York’s primary.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Elinor Donahue is 80. Actor Tim Curry is 71. Actress Ashley Judd is 49. Jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux is 43. Actress Kate Hudson is 38. Actor Hayden Christensen is 36. Tennis player Maria Sharapova is 30.

Thought for Today: “There is a Law that man should love his neighbor as himself. In a few hundred years it should be as natural to mankind as breathing or the upright gait; but if he does not learn it he must perish.”—Alfred Adler, Austrian psychoanalyst (1870-1937).