On April 12th...

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1577 Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway, was born.

1606 England adopted the Union Flag.

1654 The Ordinance of Union between England and Scotland was passed by the Council of State.

1770 The Townsend Acts were repealed.

1777 American statesman Henry Clay was born.

1782 British Admiral George Rodney defeated French Admiral Comte de Grasse at the Battle of the Saintes.

1817 Astronomer Charles Messier died.

1844 Texan envoys signed a Treaty of Annexation with the United States.

1861 Confederate shore batteries under the command of General Pierre G. T. Beauregard opened fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in Charleston (South Carolina) Harbor.

1862 James Andrews stole a Confederate train (pulled by the General) at Kennesaw, Georgia.
1862 Union troops occupied Fort Pulaski, Georgia.

1877 The British annexed the Transvaal, in South Africa.
1877 A catcher's mask was used in a baseball game for the first time.

1878 American politician William "Boss" Tweed died.

1892 George C. Blickensderfer patented a portable typewriter.

1900 The US Congress passed the Foraker Act, establishing Puerto Rico as an unincorporated territory.

1907 The Swiss Parliament passed a bill reorganizing the nation's armed forces into a standing militia.

1908 Fire left 17,000 people homeless in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

1912 Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, died.

1919 The British Parliament passed a 48-hour work week with minimum wages.

1927 General Chiang Kai-shek began a counter revolution in Shanghai.

1932 Entertainer Herbert Butros Khaury, aka Tiny Tim, was born.

1937 Sir Frank Whittle ground-tested the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft at Rugby, England.

1938 The first U.S. law requiring medical tests for marriage licenses was passed in New York.

1940 Italy annexed Albania.
1940 Jazz musician Herbie Hancock was born.

1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, died.

1946 Syria gained independence from France.

1947 Author Tom Clancy was born.
1947 Talk show host David Letterman was born.

1950 Singer David Cassidy was born.

1954 Sam Snead won the Masters Golf Tournament.
1954 The Minnesota Lakers beat the Syracuse Nationals, 4 games to 3, to win the NBA Championship.
1954 Bill Haley & Comets recorded "Rock Around Clock."

1955 The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was approved for use in the United States.

1957 Ninety-six persons died when a ferryboat ran onto a reef and capsized off Onomichi, Japan.
1957 Singer Vince Gill was born.

1959 Thirty-eight persons were killed when a 500-pound bomb taken from a ship sunk during World War II exploded in a village on Lingayan Gulf in the Philippines.

1960 Eric Peugeot, 4-year-old son of French automobile manufacturer Roland Peugeot, was kidnapped.
1960 Chicago's Comiskey Park debuted its "Exploding Scoreboard."

1961 Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the earth.
1961 The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Museum was dedicated at Warm Springs, Georgia.

1969 Simon & Garfunkel released "Boxer."

1975 Linda Ronstadt released "When Will I Be Loved."

1981 The first U.S. Space Shuttle, Columbia, was launched.
1981 Boxer Joe Louis died.

1989 Activist Abbie Hoffman died.
1989 Boxer Sugar Ray Robinson died.

1992 Euro Disney opened just outside Paris, France.

1999 U.S. President Bill Clinton was cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a sexual harassment civil lawsuit.
1999 Singer Boxcar Willie died.

2009 The U.S. Navy rescued cargo ship Captain Richard Phillips, who had been taken hostage by Somali pirates.

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This page was last updated on April 11, 2018.