Today In History
Today is Saturday, April 13, the 104th day of 2024. There are 262 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On April 13, 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first Black performer to win an Academy Award for best actor or best actress with his performance in “Lilies of the Field.”
ON THIS DATE
› 1743: The third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was born in Shadwell in the Virginia Colony.
› 1861: At the start of the Civil War, Fort Sumter in South Carolina fell to Confederate forces.
› 1953: “Casino Royale,” Ian Fleming’s first book as well as the first James Bond novel, was published in London by Jonathan Cape Ltd.
› 1970: Apollo 13, fourfifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)
› 2009: At his second trial, music producer Phil Spector was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury of second-degree murder in the shooting of actor Lana Clarkson (he was later sentenced to 19 years to life in prison; he died in prison in January 2021).
› 2012: Jennifer Capriati was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
› 2016: The Golden State Warriors became the NBA’s first 73-win team by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 125104, breaking the 1996 72-win record of the Chicago Bulls. Kobe Bryant of the Lakers scored 60 points in his final game, wrapping up 20 years in the NBA.
› 2020: Charles Thacker Jr., a crew member on the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, died at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Guam, becoming the first active-duty military member to die from the coronavirus.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., is 91. Actor Edward Fox is 87. R&B singer Lester Chambers is 84. Movie-TV composer Bill Conti is 82. Rock musician Jack Casady is
80. Singer Al Green is 78. Actor Ron Perlman is 74. Actor William Sadler is
74. Singer Peabo Bryson is 73. Rock musician Jimmy Destri (Blondie) is 70. Comedian Gary Kroeger is 67. Actor Saundra Santiago is 67. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., is
64. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is 61. Actor Page Hannah is
60. Actor-comedian Caroline Rhea is 60. Rock musician Marc Ford is 58. Reggae singer Capleton is 57. Actor Ricky Schroder is 54. Rock singer Aaron Lewis is 52. Actor Bokeem Woodbine is 51. Singer Lou Bega is 49. Actor-producer Glenn Howerton is 48. Actor Kyle Howard is 46. Actor Kelli Giddish is 44. Actor Courtney Peldon is 43. Pop singer Nellie McKay is 42. Rapper/singer Ty Dolla $ign is 42. Actor Allison Williams is 36. Actor Hannah Marks is 31.