Today In History

Today is Thursday, April 20, the 110th day of 2023. There are 255 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, leased by BP, killed 11 workers and caused a blow-out that began spewing an estimated 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. (The well was finally capped nearly three months later.)

ON THIS DATE

› 1812: The fourth vice president of the United States, George Clinton, died in Washington at age 72, becoming the first vice president to die while in office.

› 1861: Col. Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the United States Army. (Lee went on to command the Army of Northern Virginia, and eventually became general-in-chief of the Confederate forces.)

› 1912: Boston’s Fenway Park hosted its first professional baseball game while Navin Field (Tiger Stadium) opened in Detroit. (The Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11 innings; the Tigers beat the Cleveland Naps 6-5 in 11 innings.)

› 1916: The Chicago Cubs played their first game at Wrigley Field (then known as Weeghman Park); the Cubs defeated the Cincinnati Reds 7-6.

› 1971: The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.

› 1972: Apollo 16’s lunar module, carrying astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke Jr., landed on the moon.

› 1986: Following an absence of six decades, Russian-born pianist Vladimir Horowitz performed in the Soviet Union to a packed audience at the Grand Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

› 1999: The Columbine High School massacre took place in Colorado as two students shot and killed 12 classmates and one teacher before taking their own lives.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Former Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., is 87. Actor George Takei is 86. Singer Johnny Tillotson is 85. Actor Ryan O’Neal is 82. Bluegrass singer-musician Doyle Lawson (Quicksilver) is 79. Actor Judith O’Dea is 78. Rock musician Craig Frost (Grand Funk Railroad, Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band) is 75. Actor Jessica Lange is 74. Actor Veronica Cartwright is 74. Actor Clint Howard is 64. Actor Crispin Glover is 59. Actor Andy Serkis is 59. Olympic silver medal figure skater Rosalynn Sumners is 59. Actor William deVry is 55. Country singer Wade Hayes is 54. Actor Shemar Moore is 53. Actor Carmen Electra is 51. Reggae singer Stephen Marley is 51. Rock musician Marty Crandall (The Shins) is 48. Actor Joey Lawrence is 47. Country musician Clay Cook (Zac Brown Band) is 45. Actor Clayne Crawford is 45. Actor Tim Jo is 39. Actor Carlos Valdes (TV: “The Flash”) is 34.