This Day Trivia - april 20

Events

2004 President Bush on Wiretapping "Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."

1999 Columbine High School massacre Two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, go on a shooting rampage at their Colorado high school, killing twelve students and a teacher, wounding twenty-four others, and then committing suicide.

1987 Billionaire Boys Club Joe Hunt is convicted of first degree murder. This crime was the basis for the 1987 movie.

1971 Busing The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the use of busing to end segregation in public schools is constitutional.

1959 First TV Man-to-Man Kiss A Sicilian Capo (Neville Brand) gives the "kiss of death" to Mafia soldier (Frank DeKova) in Untouchables: The Scarface Mob (pilot for the Untouchables).

1959 Dolly Parton The 13-year-old singer releases her first single: Puppy Love.

1940 Electron microscope is publicly demonstrated for the first time, by the Radio Corporation of America Laboratory in New Jersey. It had a magnification of 100,000 diameters.

1920 Grand Canyon is formally dedicated as a national park.

1887 First Automobile Race The race, organized by a French cycling magazine in Paris, is won by Georges Bouton, the only entrant.

1862 Pasteurization Louis Pasteur completes the first test of his method of preserving foods. He opened a jar of dog's blood and urine that had been sealed since March 3. It showed no signs of decay.

1861 Civil War Robert E. Lee resigns his command in the U.S. Army.

Births

1972 Carmen Electra (Tara Leigh Patrick), American model, actress, singer.

1949 Jessica Lange American actress. Film: King Kong (1976, King Kong's main squeeze).

1941 Ryan O'Neal American actor. Film: Paper Moon (1973). TV: Peyton Place (Rodney Harrington).

1940 George Takei American actor. TV: Star Trek (Mr. Sulu).

1928 Gerald S. Hawkins d. 2003 English astronomer and mathematician. He showed that Stonehenge was an ancient astronomical observatory (1963).

1914 Robert Galambos d. 2010 American neuroscientist who coined the term "echolocation." He and Donald Griffin proved that bats use echolocation for night flight.

1893 Harold Lloyd d. 1971 American comic actor, known for his dangerous stunts. Film: Grandma's Boy (1922), Safety Last (1923), and The Kid Brother (1927).

1889 Adolf Hitler d. 1945 German Nazi leader, started World War II by invading Poland (1939) and was Time magazine's 1938 "Man of the Year." It is reported he committed suicide with his mistress, whom he had married the day before, although their bodies were never found.

1850 Daniel Chester French d. 1931 American artist. He built the statue of Abraham Lincoln which is in the Lincoln Memorial Building and the famous statue of The Minute Man (1794).

1839 Carol I d. 1914 the first King of Rumania (1881-1914).

1786 Robert Marc Séguin d. 1875 the Elder, French engineer. He and Guillaume Henry Dufour designed and built the first permanent wire-cable suspension bridge (1823).

1745 Philippe Pinel d. 1826 French physician, "father of modern psychiatry." He pioneered the humane treatment of the mentally ill and opposed the commonly-held belief that mental illness was caused by demonic possession.

570 Muhammad d. 632 (Muhammad ibn Abdulla), founder of Islam. According to the Muslim belief, he was given the verses of the Qur'an by the Angel Gabriel.

Deaths

1993 Cantinflas b. 1911 (Mario Moreno), Mexican clown, superstar of Spanish-speaking films, called the "Charlie Chaplin of Mexico." Charlie Chaplin described him as "the world's greatest comedian." Film: Around the World in 80 Days (1956, as Passepartout).

1992 Benny Hill b. 1925 British comedian, singer. Music: Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) (1971, British #1).

1968 Rudolph Dirks b. 1877 American cartoonist, creator of Katzenjammer Kids (1897).

1964 Eddie Dyer b. 1900 American baseball player, manager. He was the first rookie manager to win the World Series (1946, St. Louis Cardinals).

1912 Bram Stoker b. 1847 English author. Writings: Dracula (1897).

1908 Henry Chadwick b. 1824 American sports writer, wrote the first baseball rule book (1858).

1856 Robert Livingston Stevens b. 1787 American inventor, steamboat and railroad engineer. He was the first to build railroad tracks using logs turned crosswise, with spikes to hold the rails on.

1812 George Clinton b. 1739 American Revolutionary soldier, 4th U.S. Vice-President (1805-12), first governor of New York.

1769 Pontiac b. circa 1719 Ottawa Indian chief. He is credited with leading "Pontiac's Rebellion," against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region.

1707 Johann Christoph Denner b. 1655 German woodwind instrument maker, credited with inventing the clarinet.

1676 John Clarke b. 1609 Father of Rhode Island.

1314 Clement V b. 1264 French-born religious leader, 195th Pope (1305-14).