Today is Good Friday, April 18, the 108th day of 2014. There are 257 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On
April 18, 1934, the first laundromat (called a "Washateria") was opened
by John F. Cantrell in Fort Worth, Texas; four electric washing
machines were rented to members of the public on an hourly basis.
On this date:
In
1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington,
Mass., warning American colonists that the British were coming.
In 1831, the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa was officially opened.
In
1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging
fires; estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000 and 6,000.
In 1923, the first game was played at the original Yankee Stadium in New York; the Yankees defeated the
Boston Red Sox 4-1.
In
1942, an air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt. Col. James H.
Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities. The first World War II
edition of The Stars and Stripes was published as a weekly newspaper.
In
1944, the ballet "Fancy Free," with music by Leonard Bernstein and choreography by Jerome
Robbins, premiered in New York.
In 1949, the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed.
In 1954, Gamal Abdel Nasser seized power as he became prime minister of Egypt.
In 1955, physicist Albert Einstein died in Princeton, N.J., at age 76.
In 1964, Hollywood screenwriter Ben Hecht, 70, died in New York.
In
1978, the Senate approved the Panama Canal Treaty, providing for the
complete turnover of control of the waterway to Panama on the last day
of 1999.
In 1983, 63 people, including 17 Americans, were killed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, by a
suicide bomber.
Ten
years ago: Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
(zah-pah-TEH’-roh) ordered a withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq just
hours after his government was sworn in, fulfilling a campaign pledge
and trying to calm his uneasy nation after bombings that killed 191
people in Madrid.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama offered a
spirit of cooperation to America’s hemispheric neighbors at the Summit
of the Americas in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. The White House said
President Barack Obama was "deeply disappointed" at news Iran had
convicted American journalist Roxana Saberi of spying for the United
States and sentenced her to eight years in prison. (Saberi was released
on appeal the following month.) Emma Hendrickson, a 100-year-old
great-great-grandmother from Morris Plains, N.J., became the oldest
competitor in the history of the United States
Bowling Congress Women’s Championships, rolling a 115, 97 and 106 for a
318 series during team competition at the National Bowling Stadium in
Reno. (Hendrickson died in February 2012 at age 102.)
One year
ago: A Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus police officer, Sean
Collier, was shot to death while sitting in his cruiser; authorities
said he was killed by two brothers suspected in the deadly Boston
Marathon bombing. Randy Newman, Heart, Rush, Public Enemy, Donna Summer,
Albert King, and producers Quincy Jones and Lou Adler were inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Los Angeles.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Barbara Hale is 93. Actor Clive Revill is 84. Actor
James Drury is 80. Actor Robert Hooks is 77. Actress Hayley Mills is 68.
Actor James Woods is 67. Actress-director Dorothy Lyman is 67. Actress
Cindy Pickett is 67. Country musician Walt Richmond (The Tractors) is
67. Country musician Jim Scholten (Sawyer Brown) is 62. Actor Rick
Moranis is 61. Actress Melody Thomas Scott is 58. Actor Eric Roberts is
58. Actor John James is 58. Rock musician Les Pattinson (Echo and the
Bunnymen) is 56. Author-journalist Susan Faludi is 55. Actress Jane
Leeves is 53. Ventriloquist/comedian Jeff Dunham is 52. Talk show host
Conan O’Brien is 51. Bluegrass singer-musician Terry Eldredge is 51.
Actor Eric McCormack is 51. Actress Maria Bello is 47. Actress Mary
Birdsong is 46. Rock musician Greg Eklund (The Oolahs) is 44. TV chef
Ludovic Lefebvre is 43. Actor David Tennant is 43. Country musician
Marvin Evatt (EH’-veht) is 40. Rock musician Mark Tremonti is 40.
Rhythm-and-blues singer Trina (Trina and Tamara) is 40. Actress Melissa
Joan Hart is 38. Actor Sean Maguire is 38. Actor Kevin Rankin is 38.
Actor Bryce Johnson is 37. Reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian
(kar-DASH’-ee-uhn) is 35. Actress America Ferrera is 30. Actress Alia
Shawkat is 25. Actress Britt Robertson is 24. Actress Chloe Bennet is
22. Rock singer Nathan Sykes (The Wanted) is 21. Actor Moises Arias is
20.
Thought for Today: "I’ll tell you a secret. We live in a mad and inspiring world." – Ben Hecht
(1894-1964).
Description
Today is Good Friday, April 18, the 108th day of 2014. There are 257 days left in the year.