Today’s highlight in history
On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot and killed while standing on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn.
On this date
In 1818, Congress decided the flag of the United States would consist of 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars, with a new star to be added for every new state of the Union.
In 1841, President William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia one month after his inaugural, making him the first U.S. chief executive to die in office.
In 1850, the city of Los Angeles was incorporated.
In 1859, “Dixie” was performed publicly for the first time by Bryant’s Minstrels at Mechanics’ Hall in New York.
In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by his son Tad, visited the vanquished Confederate capital of Richmond, Va., where he was greeted by a crowd that included former slaves.
In 1949, 12 nations, including the United States, signed the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
In 1975, Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, N.M.
Ten years ago: The Iraq tribunal announced new criminal charges against Saddam Hussein and six others, accusing them of genocide and crimes against humanity stemming from a 1980s crackdown against Kurds.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama’s campaign announced in a web video that he would run for reelection in 2012.
One year ago: In North Charleston, S.C., Walter Scott, a 50-year-old black motorist, was shot to death while running away from a traffic stop; Officer Michael Thomas Slager, seen in a cellphone video opening fire at Scott, was charged with murder.