TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT April 20, 1898

The United States moved closer to war with Spain as President William McKinley signed a congressional resolution passed the day before recognizing Cuban independence and authorizing U.S. military intervention to achieve that goal.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1792

France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary Wars.

1889

Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria.

1914

The Ludlow Massacre took place when the Colorado National Guard opened fire on a tent colony of striking miners; about 20 strikers, women and children died.

1938

“Olympia,” Leni Riefenstahl’s documentary about the 1936 Berlin Olympic games, was first shown in Nazi Germany.

1968

Pierre Elliott Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister of Canada.

1972

Apollo 16’s lunar module, carrying astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke Jr., landed on the moon.

1977

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Wooley v. Maynard, ruled 6-3 that car owners could refuse to display state mottoes on license plates, such as New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die.”

1999

The Columbine High School massacre took place in Colorado as two students shot and killed 12 classmates and one teacher before taking their own lives.