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UPI Almanac for Tuesday, April 23, 2019

On April 23, 1940, a fire at the River Club in Natchez, Miss., claimed the lives of 209 people, all African Americans, in what is now ranked as the fourth deadliest building fire in U.S. history.

By United Press International
A plaque bears the names of those who died in the Rhythm Club fire on April 23, 1940, in Natchez, Miss. File Photo by Billy Hathorn/Wikimedia
1 of 2 | A plaque bears the names of those who died in the Rhythm Club fire on April 23, 1940, in Natchez, Miss. File Photo by Billy Hathorn/Wikimedia

Today is Tuesday, April 23, the 113th day of 2019 with 252 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include English playwright William Shakespeare in 1564; James Buchanan, 15th president of the United States, in 1791; Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Planck in 1858; Canadian Prime Minister/Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lester Pearson in 1897; actor/diplomat Shirley Temple Black in 1928; distance runner/author Jim Fixx in 1932; singer Roy Orbison in 1936; actor Lee Majors in 1939 (age 80); actor David Birney in 1939 (age 80); actor Sandra Dee in 1942; actor Herve Villechaize in 1943; actor Joyce DeWitt in 1949 (age 70); documentarian Michael Moore in 1954 (age 65); actor Jan Hooks in 1957; actor Valerie Bertinelli in 1960 (age 59); actor George Lopez in 1961 (age 58); actor Melina Kanakaredes in 1967 (age 52); Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in 1968; comedian John Oliver in 1977 (age 42); actor Kal Penn in 1977 (age 42); actor/wrestler John Cena in 1977 (age 42); actor Jaime King in 1979 (age 40); actor Dev Patel in 1990 (age 29); model Gigi Hadid in 1995 (age 24); U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning snowboarder Chloe Kim in 2000 (age 19).

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On this date in history:

In 1635, the first public school in America, the Boston Latin School, was opened.

In 1898, the first movie theater opened at the Koster and Bials Music Hall in New York City.

In 1914, Chicago's Wrigley Field, then known as Weeghman Park, hosts its first baseball game when the Chicago Chi-Feds beat the Kansas City Packers 9-1.

In 1940, a fire at the River Club in Natchez, Miss., claimed the lives of 209 people, all African Americans, in what is now ranked as the fourth deadliest building fire in U.S. history.

In 1965, more than 200 U.S. planes struck North Vietnam in one of the heaviest raids of the Vietnam War.

In 1985, former U.S. Sen. Sam Ervin died at age 88. The North Carolina Democrat directed the Senate Watergate investigation that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation.

In 1993, United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez died at age 66.

In 2007, former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who faced down army tanks during the fall of the Soviet Union, died of cardiac arrest at the age of 76.

In 2008, the U.S. Defense Department announced that Army Gen. David Petraeus, top American military official in Iraq, was chosen to head the Central Command, overseeing military affairs in the Middle East and Central Asia, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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In 2015, the Senate confirmed Loretta Lynch as attorney general more than five months after President Barack Obama nominated her. She was the first African-American woman to hold the title.

In 2018, Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War premiered in Los Angeles at the El Capitan Theater.


A thought for the day: "It's useless to hold a person to anything he says while he's in love, drunk, or running for office." -- Shirley MacLaine

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