Today in History

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT:

On April 13, 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)

ON THIS DATE:

In 1743, the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was born in Shadwell in the Virginia Colony.

In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, Fort Sumter in South Carolina fell to Confederate forces.

In 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York. (The original museum opened in 1872.)

In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversar y of the third American president’s birth.

In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first Black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award for his performance in “Lilies of the Field.”

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-colo., is 88. Actor Edward Fox is 84. Actor Paul Sor vino is 82. R&B singer Lester Chambers is 81. Movietv composer Bill Conti is 79. Rock musician Jack Casady is 77. Actor Tony Dow is 76. Singer Al Green is 75. Actor Ron Perlman is 71. Actor William Sadler is 71. Singer Peabo Br yson is 70. Bandleader/rock musician Max Weinberg is 70. Bluegrass singer-musician Sam Bush is 69. Rock musician Jimmy Destri is 67.