TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT April 2, 1912

The just-completed RMS Titanic left Belfast to begin its sea trials eight days before the start of its ill-fated maiden voyage.

ON THIS DATE 1958

The term “beatnik” was coined by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen to refer to members of the pre-hippie counterculture; the term was inspired by the “Beat Generation” and by the Soviet launch of its second Sputnik spacecraft.

1980

President Jimmy Carter signed into law a windfall profits tax on the oil industry. (The tax was repealed in 1988.)

2003

During the Iraq War, American forces fought their way to within sight of the Baghdad skyline.