UPI Almanac for Thursday, April 11, 2019

Today is Thursday, April 11, the 101st day of 2019 with 264 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening stars are Mars and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include American statesman/orator Edward Everett in 1794; U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes in 1862; fashion designer Oleg Cassini in 1913; Ethel Kennedy, wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, in 1928 (age 91); actor Joel Grey in 1932 (age 87) ; actor Louise Lasser in 1939 (age 80); actor Peter Riegert in 1947 (age 72); actor Meshach Taylor in 1947; Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Ellen Goodman in 1941 (age 78); TV personality Jeremy Clarkson in 1960 (age 59); baseball player Mark Teixeira in 1980 (age 39); actor Matt Ryan in 1981 (age 38); actor Will Tudor in 1987 (age 32); singer Joss Stone in 1987 (age 32); actor Dakota Blue Richards in 1994 (age 25).

On this date in history:

In 1945, Allied troops liberated Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. French writer Marcel Conversy would describe his 15 months there as a "living hell."

In 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers' Jackie Robinson became the first African-American player to take the field for a Major League Baseball team, playing in an exhibition game against the New York Yankees. Four days later, on April 15, Robinson made his official MLB debut, playing on opening day at Ebbets Field against the Boston Braves.

In 1951, President Harry Truman relieved Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his command in Korea.

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, granting fair housing options to all regardless of race, religion or national origin.

In 1970, the Apollo 13 spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on the third U.S. moon-landing mission. The attempt was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded but the astronauts safely returned to Earth.

In 1983, voters elected Harold Washington as the first African-American mayor of Chicago.

In 1989, Philadelphia Flyers' Ron Hextall became the first NHL goaltender to score in a playoff game, defeating the Washington Capitals.

In 1993, a riot that would last 11 days erupted at the maximum-security Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville. Nine inmates and a guard died.

In 1996, 7-year-old Jessica Dubroff, trying to become the youngest person to pilot a plane across the United States, her father and her flight instructor were killed when their plane crashed on takeoff from Cheyenne, Wyo.

In 2002, Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio, was convicted of racketeering and corruption. He served seven years in prison.

In 2006, Ariel Sharon was officially relieved of his duties as prime minister of Israel when the Cabinet declared him to be permanently incapacitated. Sharon had a major stroke on Jan. 4, 2006, and fell into a coma a short time later. He died in 2014.

In 2011, France became the first European nation to ban the wearing of full veils in public.

In 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to the Rev. Emil J. Kapaun, a U.S. Army chaplain. Kapaun died in a Korean War POW camp.

A thought for the day: Jerry Seinfeld said, "A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking."