Today is Tuesday, April 13, the 103rd day of 2010. There are 262 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On April 13, 1743, the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was born in Shadwell, Va.
On this date
In 1598, King Henry IV of France endorsed the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to the Protestant Huguenots. The edict was abrogated in 1685 by King Louis XIV, who declared France entirely Catholic again.
In 1742, Handel’s “Messiah” was first performed publicly, in Dublin, Ireland.
In 1860, the Pony Express completed its inaugural run from St. Joseph, Mo., to Sacramento, Calif., in 10 days.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial.
In 1960, the U.S. Navy’s Transit 1B navigational satellite was successfully launched into orbit.
In 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. The astronauts managed to return safely.
In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in the first recorded papal visit to a Jewish house of worship.
Ten years ago
President Bill Clinton, during a Q-and-A session with newspaper editors, said “I’m not ashamed” about being impeached and said he was “not interested” in being pardoned for any alleged crimes in the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Whitewater investigation.
Five years ago
A defiant Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and three other attacks in back-to-back court appearances in Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta.
One year ago
President Barack Obama allowed Americans to make unlimited transfers of money and visits to relatives in Cuba. Music producer Phil Spector was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury of second-degree murder in the shooting of actress Lana Clarkson. He was later sentenced to 19 years to life in prison.
Today’s Birthdays
Movie director Stanley Donen is 86. Actor Lyle Waggoner is 75. Actor Edward Fox is 73. Playwright Lanford Wilson is 73. Actor Paul Sorvino is 71. Poet Seamus Heaney is 71. Rock musician Jack Casady is 66. Actor Tony Dow is 65. Singer Al Green is 64. Author-journalist Christopher Hitchens is 61. Actor Ron Perlman is 60. Actor William Sadler is 60. Bandleader/rock musician Max Weinberg is 59. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is 47.
Thought for Today
“Go on failing. Go on. Only next time, try to fail better.”
— Samuel Beckett,
Irish playwright and author