Today in history
On April 7, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower held a news conference in which he spoke of the importance of containing the spread of communism in Indochina, saying, “You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.” (This became known as the “domino theory,” although Eisenhower did not use that term.)
In 1788, an expedition led by Gen. Rufus Putnam established a settlement at present-day Marietta, Ohio.
In 1798, the Mississippi Territory was created by an act of Congress, with Natchez as the capital.
In 1927, the image and voice of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover were transmitted live from Washington to New York in the first successful long-distance demonstration of television.
In 1948, the World Health Organization was founded in Geneva.
In 1962, nearly 1,200 Cuban exiles tried by Cuba for their roles in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion were convicted of treason.
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced he was deferring development of the neutron bomb, a high-radiation weapon.
In 1994, civil war erupted in Rwanda, a day after a mysterious plane crash claimed the lives of the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi; in the months that followed, hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi and Hutu moderates were slaughtered by Hutu extremists.
Ten years ago: Anti-China protesters disrupted the Olympic torch relay in Paris, at times forcing Chinese organizers to put out the flame and take the torch onto a bus to secure it. Kansas won the NCAA championship, defeating Memphis 75-68 in overtime. Coach Pat Riley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Adrian Dantley and broadcaster Dick Vitale were among those selected for Basketball’s Hall of Fame.
One year ago: President Donald Trump concluded his two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, saying he had developed an “outstanding” relationship with the Chinese leader. Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Electric Light Orchestra, Journey, Yes and Joan Baez were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Brooklyn, New York.