Advertisement

UPI Almanac for Wednesday, April 9, 2014

A war ends, a king's coronation, a prince's wedding, a historic concert ... on this day in history.

By United Press International
Businessman and former boxer George Foreman at an event in Washington Sept. 24, 2011. UPI/Chris Kleponis/Pool
1 of 5 | Businessman and former boxer George Foreman at an event in Washington Sept. 24, 2011. UPI/Chris Kleponis/Pool | License Photo

Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter

Today is Wednesday, April 9, the 99th day of 2014 with 266 to follow. The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus. The evening stars are Jupiter and Mars.


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include French poet Charles Baudelaire in 1821; actor/singer Paul Robeson and football Hall of Fame member Curly Lambeau, both in 1898; birth control pill inventor Gregory Pincus and actor Ward Bond, both in 1903; former U.S. Sen. James William Fulbright, D-Ark., in 1905; Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner in 1926 (age 88); singer/songwriter Tom Lehrer in 1928 (age 86); rock 'n' roll pioneer Carl Perkins in 1932; actor Jean-Paul Belmondo in 1933 (age 81); comedian Avery Schreiber in 1935; journalist Peter Gammons in 1945 (age 69); golf Hall of Fame member Seve Ballesteros in 1957; model Paulina Porizkova in 1965 (age 49); actors Michael Learned in 1939 (age 75), Dennis Quaid in 1954 (age 60), Cynthia Nixon in 1966 (age 48), Keshia Knight Pulliam in 1979 (age 35), Kristen Stewart in 1990 (age 24) and Elle Fanning in 1998 (age 16); and political commentator Joe Scarborough in 1963 (age 51).

Advertisement
Advertisement


On this date in history:

In 1413, Henry V was crowned king of England.

In 1816, the first all-black U.S. religious denomination, the AME church, was organized in Philadelphia.

In 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, bringing the Civil War to a close.

In 1866, the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, which granted African-Americans the rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship and formed the basis for the 14th Amendment.

In 1939, on Easter Sunday, African-American contralto Marian Anderson gave a free open-air concert before more than 75,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington after the Daughters of the American Revolution denied her use of Constitution Hall because of her race.

In 1940, Germany invaded Norway and Denmark.

In 1947, a tornado roared through at least 12 towns in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, killing 169 people. The twister traveled 221 miles across the three states.

In 1959, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration introduced America's first astronauts to the public. The seven men, all military test pilots, were selected from a group of 32 candidates to take part in Project Mercury.

Advertisement

In 1963, by an act of the U.S. Congress, British statesman Winston Churchill became an honorary U.S. citizen.

In 1965, the Astrodome opened in Houston for the first indoor Major League Baseball game.

In 1976, the United States and Soviet Union agreed on the size of nuclear tests for peaceful use.

In 1991, the Soviet republic of Georgia declared independence.

In 1996, former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, D-Ill., pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to 17 months in prison.

In 1999, the president of Niger, Ibrahim Bare Mainassara, was assassinated and a military junta led by the commander of the presidential guards took over.

In 2003, Iraqis, with help from Americans, toppled a 20-foot-tall statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Firdos Square.

In 2005, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, married Camilla Parker Bowles, his longtime companion, at Windsor Castle. She took the title duchess of Cornwall.

In 2007, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country could produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale.

In 2010, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, 11 days shy of 90, announced he would retire after 35 years on the court where he was widely regarded as leader of the liberal bloc.

Advertisement

In 2011, a man opened fire with a machine gun at a Dutch shopping mall, killing six people and wounding 17. The gunman then committed suicide.

In 2012, South Korea's national police chief, Cho Hyun-oh, resigned amid criticism of how police handled an emergency call from a woman later killed by her kidnapper. Cho apologized for the "carelessness of the police and the horrendous results it led to."

In 2013, North Korea said the Korean Peninsula is "inching close to a thermonuclear war."


A thought for the day:

"Many people fail not so much because of their mistakes -- they fail because they are afraid to try." -- George Foreman

Latest Headlines