Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include Italian painter and inventor Leonardo da Vinci in 1452; British polar explorer James Clark Ross in 1800; distiller Joseph E. Seagram in 1841; author Henry James in 1843; painter Thomas Hart Benton in 1889; former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and singer Bessie Smith, both in 1894; actor Marian Jordan, "Molly" in the long-running "Fibber McGee and Molly" radio show, in 1898; North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in 1912; businessman Alfred S. Bloomingdale in 1916; Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago, in 1922; country singer Roy Clark in 1933 (age 81); actors Elizabeth Montgomery in 1933, Claudia Cardinale in 1938 (age 76) and Amy Wright in 1950 (age 64); musician Dave Edmunds in 1944 (age 70); newspaper columnist Heloise Cruse Evans ("Hints from Heloise") in 1951 (age 63); and actors Emma Thompson in 1959 (age 55), Seth Rogen in 1982 (age 32) and Emma Watson in 1990 (age 24).
On this date in history:
In 1817, the first U.S. public school for the deaf, Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons (now the American School for the Deaf), was founded at Hartford, Conn.
In 1865, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln died of an assassin's bullet. Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn in as chief executive.
In 1912, the luxury liner Titanic sank in the northern Atlantic Ocean off Newfoundland after striking an iceberg the night before. About 1,500 lives were lost.
In 1924, the first Rand McNally road atlas was published.
In 1947, Major League Baseball's color line was broken with the debut of Jackie Robinson for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
In 1955, the first franchised McDonald's was opened in Des Plaines, Ill., by Ray Kroc, who got the idea from a hamburger restaurant in San Bernardino, Calif., run by the McDonald brothers.
In 1998, Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader who presided over a reign of terror in Cambodia in the late 1970s, died at a jungle outpost near the Cambodian-Thailand border.
In 1999, astronomers announced they discovered evidence of a planetary system in the constellation Andromeda. At the time it was the only known planet system other than the one around the sun.
In 2009, Tea Party protests, largely critical of U.S. President Barack Obama and his policies, had their biggest turnout to date on April 15, tax day -- in many cities.
In 2010, in a speech at the Kennedy Space Center, U.S. President Barack Obama outlined long-range space goals, including a manned flight to Mars by the mid-2030s.
In 2013, two pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260.
A thought for the day: "Nothing is more unpleasant than a virtuous person with a mean mind." -- Walter Bagehot
Read More
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- Tighter restrictions announced for 2014 Boston Marathon
- Emma Watson says fashion industry sets 'dangerously unhealthy' standards
- Emma Watson admits to being jealous of other actresses
- Seth Rogen speaks on Capitol Hill about Alzheimer's
