TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, April 10, the 100th day of 2017. There are 265 days left in the year. The Jewish holiday Passover begins at sunset.
Today’s Highlight in History
On April 10, 1912, The British liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.
On this date
1790 — President George Washington signed the first United States Patent Act. 1863 — Rome’s first volunteer fire company, Rainbow Steam Company No. 1, was organized. 1866 — The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was incorporated. 1925 — The F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “The Great Gatsby” was first published by Scribner’s of New York. 1932 — German President Paul Von Hindenburg was re-elected in a runoff, with Adolf Hitler coming in second. 1947 — Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals. 1957 — Egypt reopened the Suez Canal to all shipping traffic. (The canal had been closed due to wreckage resulting from the Suez Crisis.) 1974 — Golda Meir told party leaders she was resigning as prime minister of Israel. 1981 — Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was declared the winner of a by-election to the British Parliament. 1998 — The Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators reached a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks. 2010 — Polish President Lech Kaczynski, 60, was killed in a plane crash in western Russia that also claimed the lives of his wife and top Polish political, military and church officials.
Ten years ago
A woman wearing an explosives vest blew herself up in the midst of 200 Iraqi police recruits in Muqdadiyah, killing 16.
Two Russian cosmonauts and U.S. billionaire Charles Simonyi arrived at the international space station.
Five years ago
Syrian troops defied a U.N.-brokered ceasefire plan, launching fresh attacks on rebellious areas.
One year ago
A massive fire erupted in a Hindu temple in southern India packed with thousands for a religious festival, killing 111 people; an unauthorized pyrotechnic display was blamed for the disaster.
The Boston Globe published a satirical front page lampooning a potential Donald Trump candidacy; the Republican candidate responded by calling the newspaper “stupid” and “worthless.”
Today’s Birthdays
Actor Max von Sydow is 88. Actress Liz Sheridan is 88. Sportscaster John Madden is 81. Reggae artist Bunny Wailer is 70. Actor Steven Seagal is 66. Actor Peter MacNicol is 63. Rock musician Steven Gustafson (10,000 Maniacs) is 60. Rock singer-musician Brian Setzer is 58. Actor-comedian Orlando Jones is 49. Rock musician Mike Mushok (Staind) is 48. Rapper Q-Tip (AKA Kamaal) is 47. Actor David Harbour is 42. Blues singer Shemekia Copeland is 38. Actress Laura Bell Bundy is 36. Actor Ryan Merriman is 34. Singer Mandy Moore is 33. Actress Shay Mitchell is 30. Actor Haley Joel Osment is 29. Country singer Maren Morris is 27. Actress-singer AJ (AKA Amanda) Michalka is 26. Actress Daisy Ridley is 25. Actress Audrey Whitby is 21. Actress Ruby Jerins is 19. Pepperell Middle School eighth-grader Madison Sincere Roberts, daughter of Monica Carson Roberts of Rome, is 14.