UPI Almanac for Sunday, April 21, 2024

Today is Sunday, April 21, the 112th day of 2024 with 254 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include Russian ruler Catherine II -- "Catherine the Great" -- in 1729; German educator Friedrich Froebel, who established the concept of the kindergarten, in 1782; British novelist Charlotte Bronte in 1816; naturalist/author John Muir in 1838; German sociologist Max Weber in 1864; actor Anthony Quinn in 1915; British barrister/writer John Mortimer in 1923; Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 1926; comedian/actor/director Elaine May in 1932 (age 92); actor/director Charles Grodin in 1935; anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean in 1939 (age 85); musician Iggy Pop in 1947 (age 77); actor/musician Patti LuPone in 1949 (age 75); actor Tony Danza in 1951 (age 73); Faustin-Archange Touadéra, president of Central African Republic, in 1957 (age 67); actor Andie MacDowell in 1958 (age 66); musician Robert Smith (Cure) in 1959 (age 65); musician Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) in 1959 (age 65); filmmaker/actor John Cameron Mitchell in 1963 (age 61); actor Toby Stephens in 1969 (age 55); comedian/actor Nicole Sullivan in 1970 (age 54); comedian/actor Rob Riggle in 1970 (age 54); musician Glen Hansard in 1970 (age 54); actor James McAvoy in 1979 (age 45); broadcaster/former pro football quarterback Tony Romo in 1980 (age 44); actor/TV personality Terrence J, born Terrence Jenkins, in 1982 (age 42); actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw in 1983 (age 41); actor Robbie Amell in 1988 (age 36); actor Frank Dillane in 1991 (age 32); actor Emma Tremblay in 2004 (age 20).

On this date in history:

In 1509, Henry VIII became king of England after his father, Henry VII, died.

In 1836, with the battle cry "Remember the Alamo!" Texas forces under Sam Houston defeated the army of Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna at San Jacinto, Texas, opening the path to Texas independence.

In 1913, California state Sen. Ernest S. Birdsall of Placer County stated in an interview with United Press that the citizens of California demanded the prohibition of "aliens ineligible for citizenship" from owning farm land. The California Alien Land Law of 1913 was aimed at discouraging immigration to the state.

In 1918, Manfred von Richthofen, German World War I flying ace known as "The Red Baron," was killed by Allied fire over Vaux-sur-Somme, France.

In 1954, U.S. Air Force planes began flying French troops to Indochina to reinforce Dien Bien Phu. The city later fell to communist Viet Minh forces.

In 1960, Brasilia was inaugurated as Brazil's capital, moving the seat of government from Rio de Janeiro.

In 1967, a Greek army coup in Athens sent King Constantine into exile in Italy.

In 1975, Nguyen Van Thieu resigned as president of South Vietnam after denouncing the United States as untrustworthy. His replacement, Tran Van Huong, prepared for peace talks with North Vietnam as communist forces advanced on Saigon.

In 1987, the bombing of a bus terminal in Colombo, Sri Lanka, killed 127 people and injured 288.

In 1992, gas explosions ripped through the historic center of Guadalajara, Mexico, killing more than 200 people and injuring hundreds of others.

In 2005, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of John Negroponte to be the nation's first national intelligence director.

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a link had been found between contaminated drug thinners from China and 81 deaths in the United States.

In 2011, John Ensign, R-Nev., resigned his U.S. Senate seat amid a budding ethics scandal. Ensign admitted an affair with his former campaign treasurer earlier and had been under Republican pressure to step down.

In 2017, a Taliban attack on Camp Shaheen near Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, left more than 100 Afghan soldiers dead and dozens injured.

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court left in place the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, allowing access to the abortion drug while legal challenges continue.

A thought for the day: "The upward course of a nation's history is due in the long run to the soundness of heart of its average men and women." -- Queen Elizabeth II