TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, April 7, the 97th day of 2021. There are 268 days left in the year.
ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY
On April 7, 1915, jazz singer-songwriter Billie Holiday, also known as “Lady Day,” was born in Philadelphia.
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.
1945 — During World War II, American planes intercepted and effectively destroyed a Japanese fleet, which included the battleship Yamato, that was headed to Okinawa on a suicide mission.
1957 — Shortly after midnight, the last of New York’s electric trolleys completed its final run from Queens to Manhattan.
1962 — Nearly 1,200 Cuban exiles tried by Cuba for their roles in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion were convicted of treason.
1984 — The Census Bureau reported Los Angeles had overtaken Chicago as the nation’s “second city” in terms of population.
1994 — Civil war erupted in Rwanda, a day after a mysterious plane crash claimed the lives of the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi
2015 — Michael Thomas Slager, a white South Carolina police officer, was charged with murder in the shooting death of Black motorist Walter Lamer Scott after law enforcement officials saw a cellphone video taken by a bystander.
Ten years ago — A man shot and killed 12 children at the Tasso da Silveira public school in Rio de Janeiro; the gunman, a onetime student at the school, shot and killed himself after being cornered by police.
Five years ago — Russian President Vladimir Putin denied any links to offshore accounts and described the Panama Papers document leaks scandal as part of a US-led plot to weaken Russia.
One year ago — Wisconsin went ahead with in-person voting after the state Supreme Court blocked the governor’s order to postpone the primary; thousands waited in line in Milwaukee amid fears that the voting would bring a spike in the state’s Coronavirus cases.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
R&B singer Charlie Thomas (The Drifters) is
84. Former California Gov. Jerry Brown is 83. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is 82. Singer John Oates is
73. Singer Janis Ian is 70. Country musician John Dittrich is 70. Actor Jackie Chan is 67. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett is 67. Actor Russell Crowe is 57. Christian/jazz singer Mark Kibble (Take 6) is 57. Actor Bill Bellamy is 56. Rock musician Dave “Yorkie” Palmer (Space) is
56. Rock musician Charlie Hall (The War on Drugs) is 47. Former football player-turned-analyst Tiki Barber is 46. Actor Heather Burns is 46. Christian rock singer-musician John Cooper
(Skillet) is 46. Actor Kevin Alejandro is 45. Retired baseball infielder Adrian Beltre is 42. Actor Sian Clifford is 39. Rock musician Ben McKee (Imagine Dragons) is 36. Christian rock singer Tauren Wells is 35. Actor Ed Speleers is 33. Actor Conner Rayburn is 22.