Today in history
Today is Monday, April 10, the 100th day of 2017. There are 265 days left in the year. The Jewish holiday Passover begins at sunset.
Today’s Highlight in History
On April 10, 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.
On this date
In 1790, President George Washington signed the first United States Patent Act.
In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was incorporated.
In 1925, the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “The Great Gatsby” was first published by Scribner’s of New York.
In 1932, German President Paul Von Hindenburg was reelected in a runoff, with Adolf Hitler coming in second.
In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals.
In 1957, Egypt reopened the Suez Canal to all shipping traffic. (The canal had been closed due to wreckage resulting from the Suez Crisis.) The jury-deliberation film drama “12 Angry Men,” starring Henry Fonda, premiered in Los Angeles. John Osborne’s play “The Entertainer,” starring Laurence Olivier, opened in London.
In 1967, at the Academy Awards, “A Man for All Seasons” won best picture of 1966; its star, Paul Scofield, was named best actor; Elizabeth Taylor received best actress for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
In 1974, Golda Meir told party leaders she was resigning as prime minister of Israel.
In 1981, imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was declared the winner of a by-election to the British Parliament.
In 1992, comedian Sam Kinison was killed in a car crash outside Needles, California, at age 38.
In 1998, the Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators reached a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.
In 2010, Polish President Lech Kaczynski (lehk kahCHIN’-skee), 60, was killed in a plane crash in western Russia that also claimed the lives of his wife and top Polish political, military and church officials.
Ten years ago: A woman wearing an explosives vest blew herself up in the midst of 200 Iraqi police recruits in Muqdadiyah, killing 16. Two Russian cosmonauts and U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi arrived at the international space station. DNA tests showed that former boyfriend Larry Birkhead was the father of the late Anna Nicole Smith’s baby.
Five years ago: Rick Santorum quit the presidential race, clearing the way for Mitt Romney to claim the Republican nomination. Syrian troops defied a U.N.-brokered cease-fire plan, launching fresh attacks on rebellious areas. French Resistance figure Raymond Aubrac, 97, died in Paris. The University of Arkansas fired Bobby Petrino as its football coach, citing a “pattern of misleading” behavior that included hiring his mistress.
One year ago: A massive fire erupted in a Hindu temple in southern India packed with thousands for a religious festival, killing 111 people; an unauthorized pyrotechnic display was blamed for the disaster. The Boston Globe published a satirical front page lampooning a potential Donald Trump candidacy; the Republican candidate responded by calling the newspaper “stupid” and “worthless.” Danny Willett won the Masters, shooting a closing 67 for a 5-under 283 total, after a stunning collapse by Jordan Spieth.