Today in history

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot and killed on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

On this date:

In 1818, Congress decided the flag of the United States would consist of 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars, with a new star to be added for every new state of the Union.

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln, in a letter to Kentucky newspaper editor Albert G. Hodges, wrote: “I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.”

In 1887, Susanna Madora Salter became the first woman elected mayor of an American community: Argonia, Kansas.

In 1917, the U.S. Senate voted 82-6 in favor of declaring war against Germany (the House followed suit two days later by a vote of 373-50).

In 1949, 12 nations, including the United States, signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.

In 1958, Johnny Stompanato, an enforcer for crime boss Mickey Cohen and the boyfriend of actress Lana Turner, was stabbed to death by Turner’s teenage daughter, Cheryl Crane, who said Stompanato had attacked her mother.

In 1975, Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage. (It was destroyed in the disaster of Jan. 1986.)

Ten years ago: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the surprise release of 15 captive British sailors and marines. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad over White House objections.

Five years ago: A federal judge sentenced five former New Orleans police officers to prison for the deadly Danziger Bridge shootings in the chaotic days following Hurricane Katrina. (The verdicts in the case were later set aside by the judge, who cited prosecutorial misconduct; the officers pleaded guilty in 2016 to reduced charges.)

One year ago: Kris Jenkins hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Villanova to the national title with a 7774 victory over North Carolina in one of the wildest finishes in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Tom Izzo, Sheryl Swoopes, Yao Ming and Jerry Reinsdorf were elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.”