ALMANAC On this day, April 9

1865 Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

1922 The cost of the Boulevard of the Allies, nearing completion, was expected to be $1.6 million per mile, said to be most expensive road construction job in the world.

1939 Marian Anderson performed a concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after the Black singer was denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

1975 The Port Authority of Allegheny County began construction of a route from Downtown through the Mount Washington Trolley Tunnel and up Saw Mill Run Boulevard.

1986 Stanley C. Ellerspan, vice president of human resources at National Steel Corp., announced the company’s intentions to dismiss 3,500 of its employees during the next five years.

2012 A Florida special prosecutor said a grand jury would not look into the Trayvon Martin case, leaving the decision of whether to charge the teen’s shooter in her hands alone. (Prosecutor Angela Corey ended up filing second-degree murder charges against George Zimmerman, who pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense; Zimmerman was acquitted at trial.)

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).

— Compiled by Rick Nowlin

Today’s birthdays: Satirical songwriter and mathematician Tom Lehrer, 94. Actor Michael Learned, 83. Country singer Margo Smith, 80. Actor Dennis Quaid, 68. Comedian Jimmy Tingle, 67. Country musician Dave Innis (Restless Heart), 63. Talk show host Joe Scarborough, 59. Actor-sports reporter Lisa Guerrero, 58. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, 58. Actor Mark Pellegrino, 57. Actor-model Paulina Porizkova, 57. Actor Cynthia Nixon, 56. Rock singer Kevin Martin (Candlebox), 53. TV personality Sunny Anderson, 47. Rock singer Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance), 45. Actor Keshia Knight Pulliam, 43. Rock musician Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), 42. Actor Charlie Hunnam, 42. Actor Ryan Northcott, 42. Actor Arlen Escarpeta, 41. Actor Jordan Masterson, 36. Actor Leighton Meester, 36. Actor-singer Jesse McCartney, 35. R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan, 35. Actor Kristen Stewart, 32. Actor Elle Fanning, 24. Rapper Lil Nas X, 23. Actor Isaac Hempstead Wright, 23. Classical crossover singer and Pine native Jackie Evancho, 22.

Thought for today: “I always felt that the great high privilege, relief and comfort of friendship was that one had to explain nothing.”

— Katherine Mansfield, New Zealander author (1888-1923)