Today in History

Today in History

Today is Monday, April 11, the 102nd day of 2016. There are 264 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 11, 1966, Frank Sinatra recorded the song "Strangers in the Night" for his label, Reprise Records.

On this date:

In 1689, William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.

In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, ending the War of the Spanish Succession.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a crowd outside the White House, saying, "We meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart." (It was the last public address Lincoln would deliver.)

In 1921, Iowa became the first state to impose a cigarette tax, at 2 cents a package.

In 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in Germany.

In 1951, President Harry S. Truman relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of his commands in the Far East.

In 1965, dozens of tornadoes raked six Midwestern states on Palm Sunday, killing 271 people.

In 1970, Apollo 13, with astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert, blasted off on its ill-fated mission to the moon.

In 1979, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control.

In 1989, Mexican officials began unearthing the remains of victims of a drug-trafficking cult near Matamoros; one of the dead was University of Texas student Mark Kilroy, who had disappeared while on spring break. (Several cult members were later convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison.)

In 1991, the musical "Miss Saigon," which sparked controversy over charges it was racist and sexist, opened on Broadway.

In 1996, seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff, who'd hoped to become the youngest person to fly cross-country, was killed along with her father and flight instructor when her plane crashed after takeoff from Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Ten years ago: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that his country had succeeded in enriching uranium on a small scale for the first time. Israel's Cabinet declared Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who had suffered a stroke, permanently incapacitated, officially ending his five-year tenure. A suicide bombing during an outdoor Sunni Muslim prayer service in Karachi, Pakistan, killed more than 50 people. June Pointer, the youngest of the Pointer Sisters, died in Los Angeles at age 52.

Five years ago: A bloody, four-month standoff in the West African nation of Ivory Coast ended when troops loyal to the elected president, Alassane Ouattara, routed and captured his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, the longtime strongman who'd lost the vote but refused to give up power. A subway bombing in Minsk, Belarus, claimed 15 lives.

One year ago: President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raoul Castro sat down together on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama City in the first formal meeting of the two countries' leaders in half a century.

Today's Birthdays: Ethel Kennedy is 88. Actor Joel Grey is 84. Actress Louise Lasser is 77. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Ellen Goodman is 75. Movie writer-director John Milius is 72. Actor Peter Riegert is 69. Movie director Carl Franklin is 67. Actor Bill Irwin is 66. Country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 59. Songwriter-producer Daryl Simmons is 59. Rock musician Nigel Pulsford is 55. Actor Lucky Vanous is 55. Country singer Steve Azar is 52. Singer Lisa Stansfield is 50. Rock musician Dylan Keefe (Marcy Playground) is 46. Actor Johnny Messner is 46. Actor Vicellous Shannon is 45. Rapper David Banner is 42. Actress Tricia Helfer is 42. Rock musician Chris Gaylor (The All-American Rejects) is 37. Actress Kelli Garner is 32. Singer Joss Stone is 29. Actress-dancer Kaitlyn Jenkins is 24.

Thought for Today: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." -- Kurt Vonnegut, American author (born 1922, died this date in 2007).