Newsvine - Today in History - April 12
Today is Thursday, April 12, the 102nd day of 2007. There are 263 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
On this date:
In 1606, England's King James I decreed the design of the original Union Flag, which combined the flags of England and Scotland.
In 1877, the catcher's mask was first used in a baseball game, by James Tyng of Harvard in a game against the Lynn Live Oaks.
In 1945, President FranklinD. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.
In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.
In1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly inspace, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing.
In 1983, Chicagoans went to the polls to elect Harold Washington the city's first black mayor.
Ten years ago: Undaunted by a cache of explosives found on his travel route, Pope John Paul II plunged into a peace mission to Sarajevo,wading into crowds and declaring, "Never again war."
One year ago: Jurors in theZacarias Moussaoui trial listened to a recording of terrified shoutsand cries in the cockpit as desperate passengers twice charged panickedhijackers during the final half hour of doomed United Flight 93 onSept. 11.
Today's Birthdays:
- Country singer Ned Miller is 82.
- Jazz musician Herbie Hancock is 67.
- Rock singer John Kay (Steppenwolf) is 63.
- Author Tom Clancy is 60.
- Talk show host David Letterman is 60.
- Singer David Cassidy is 57.
- Rhythm-and-blues singer JD Nicholas (The Commodores) is 55.
- Actor Andy Garcia is 51.
- Rock musician Will Sergeant (Echo & the Bunnymen) is 49.
- Folk-pop singer Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) is 43.
- Actress Shannen Doherty is 36.
- Rock musician Guy Berryman (Coldplay) is 29.
- Actress Claire Danes is 28.
- Actress Jennifer Morrison is 28.
- Rock singer-musician Brendon Urie (Panic! at the Disco) is 20.
