Today in history

On April 11, 1947, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers played in an exhibition against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field, four days before his regular-season debut that broke baseball’s color line. (The Dodgers won, 14-6.) “Monsieur Verdoux,” Charlie Chaplin’s dark comedy about a Bluebeard-like figure, received a hostile reception at its premiere in New York.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a crowd outside the White House, saying, “We meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart.” (It was the last public address Lincoln would deliver.)

In 1921, Iowa became the first state to impose a cigarette tax, at 2 cents a package.

In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in Germany.

In 1951, President Harry S. Truman relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his commands in the Far East.

In 1965, dozens of tornadoes raked six Midwestern states on Palm Sunday, killing 271 people.

In 1970, Apollo 13, with astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert, blasted off on its ill-fated mission to the moon.

In 1979, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control.

In 1980, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued regulations specifically prohibiting sexual harassment of workers by supervisors.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan returned to the White House from the hospital, 12 days after he was wounded in an assassination attempt. Race-related rioting erupted in the Brixton district of south London.

Ten years ago: North Carolina’s top prosecutor dropped all charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players accused of sexually assaulting a stripper at a party, saying the athletes were innocent victims of a “tragic rush to accuse.” Death claimed author Kurt Vonnegut in New York at age 84.

Five years ago: A University of California task force said that UC Davis police should not have used pepper-spray on student demonstrators in an incident that prompted national outrage.

One year ago: Secretary of State John Kerry visited the memorial to Hiroshima’s atomic bombing, delivering a message of peace and hope for a nuclear-free world.

“We think in generalities, but we live in detail.” — Alfred North Whitehead, British philosopher (1861-1947).