This Week in History for April 17-23

Princess Grace Kelly waves to cheering crowds lining the road as she rides in an open car with Prince Rainier III following their marriage in a religious wedding ceremony in the Monaco Cathedral, South of France, April 19, 1956. (AP Photo)
Today is Sunday, April 17, the 107th day of 2022. There are 258 days left in the year.
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Today’s Highlight in History
On April 17, 1961, some 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in an attempt to topple Fidel Castro, whose forces crushed the incursion by the third day.
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Apollo 13 astronauts Fred W. Haise, James A. Lovell and John L. Swigert, left to right, leave a helicopter to step aboard carrier Iwo Jima in the Pacific ocean after their successful recovery on Friday, April 17, 1970. (AP Photo)
On this date
In 1521, Martin Luther went before the Diet of Worms (vohrms) to face charges stemming from his religious writings. (Luther was later declared an outlaw by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.)
In 1961, “The Apartment” won the Academy Award for best picture of 1960; Burt Lancaster was named best actor for “Elmer Gantry,” while the best actress award went to Elizabeth Taylor for “Butterfield 8.”
In 1964, Ford Motor Co. unveiled the Mustang at the New York World’s Fair.
In 1969, a jury in Los Angeles convicted Sirhan Sirhan of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Senator Bob Dole, R-Kansas, pays his respects to the late boxer Joe Louis Tuesday, April 21, 1981 in Washington DC. Louis will be buried later Tuesday at Arlington National Cemetery. (AP Photo/Jeff Taylor)
In 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert splashed down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft while en route to the moon.
In 1972, the Boston Marathon allowed women to compete for the first time; Nina Kuscsik was the first officially recognized women’s champion, with a time of 3:10:26.
In 1973, Federal Express (later FedEx) began operations as 14 planes carrying 186 packages took off from Memphis International Airport, bound for 25 U.S. cities.
In 1975, Cambodia’s five-year war ended as the capital Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge, which instituted brutal, radical policies that claimed an estimated 1.7 million lives until the regime was overthrown in 1979.
In 1986, at London’s Heathrow Airport, a bomb was discovered in the bag of Anne-Marie Murphy, a pregnant Irishwoman about to board an El Al jetliner to Israel; she’d been tricked into carrying the bomb by her Jordanian fiance, Nezar Hindawi. The bodies of kidnapped American Peter Kilburn and Britons Philip Padfield and Leigh Douglas were found near Beirut; they had been slain in apparent retaliation for the U.S. raid on Libya.

FOR USE AS DESIRED FOR THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FENWAY PARK - FILE - In this July 9, 1946, file photo, a capacity crowd watches the annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game game at Fenway Park on Boston. The Red Sox will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway's opening on April 20, 1912, when they host the New York Yankees. (AP Photo, File)
In 1991, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 3,000 for the first time, ending the day at 3,004.46, up 17.58.
In 1993, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted two former police officers of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King; two other officers were acquitted. Turkish President Turgut Ozal died at age 66.
In 2020, President Donald Trump urged supporters to “LIBERATE” three states led by Democratic governors, apparently encouraging protests against stay-at-home mandates aimed at stopping the coronavirus. Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee accused Trump of “fomenting domestic rebellion and spreading lies.”
Ten years ago: Riding on the back of a 747 jet, retired space shuttle Discovery traveled from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Chantilly, Virginia, to be installed in its new home: the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum annex near Washington Dulles Airport in Northern Virginia. Jamie Moyer, at age 49, became the oldest pitcher ever to win a major league contest as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 5-3.
Five years ago: Opening his first White House Easter Egg Roll, President Donald Trump extolled the strength of America as thousands of kids, and some adults, reveled in the time-honored tradition of rolling hard-boiled eggs across the manicured lawn. Kenyans ruled the Boston Marathon, with Geoffrey Kirui and Edna Kiplagat winning the race in their debuts.
One year ago: The global death toll from the coronavirus topped 3 million people, according to Johns Hopkins University, amid repeated setbacks in the worldwide vaccination campaign and a deepening crisis in places such as Brazil, India and France. Britain’s Prince Philip was laid to rest in a funeral ceremony at Windsor Castle that honored his lifetime of service; his wife of 73 years, Queen Elizabeth II, sat alone at the ceremony, setting an example amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor David Bradley is 80. Composer-musician Jan Hammer (yahn HAH’-mur) is 74. Actor Olivia Hussey is 71. Actor Clarke Peters is 70. Rapper Afrika Bambaataa is 65. Actor Sean Bean is 63. Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason (eh-SY’-uh-suhn) is 61. Actor Joel Murray is 60. Rock singer Maynard James Keenan is 58. Actor Lela Rochon (LEE’-lah rohn-SHAHN’) is 58. Actor William Mapother is 57. Actor Leslie Bega is 55. Actor Henry Ian Cusick is 55. Actor Kimberly Elise is 55. Singer Liz Phair is 55. Director/producer Adam McKay is 54. Rapper-actor Redman is 52. Actor Jennifer Garner is 50. Singer Victoria Beckham is 48. Actor-singer Lindsay Korman is 44. Actor Tate Ellington is 43. Actor Nicholas D’Agosto is 42. Actor Charlie Hofheimer is 41. Actor Rooney Mara is 37. Actor Jacqueline MacInnes Wood is 35. Actor Paulie Litt is 27. Actor Dee Dee Davis is 26.
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APRIL 18
On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts, warning colonists that British Regular troops were approaching.
In 1923, the first game was played at the original Yankee Stadium in New York; the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox 4-1.
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APRIL 19
On April 19, 1775, the American Revolutionary War began with the battles of Lexington and Concord.
In 1897, the first Boston Marathon was held; winner John J. McDermott ran the course in two hours, 55 minutes and 10 seconds.
In 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected pope in the first conclave of the new millennium; he took the name Benedict XVI.
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APRIL 20
On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, leased by BP, killed 11 workers and caused a blow-out that began spewing an estimated 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. (The well was finally capped nearly three months later.)
In 1912, Boston’s Fenway Park hosted its first professional baseball game while Navin (NAY’-vihn) Field (Tiger Stadium) opened in Detroit. (The Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11 innings; the Tigers beat the Cleveland Naps 6-5 in 11 innings.)
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APRIL 21
On April 21, 1975, with Communist forces closing in, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned after nearly 10 years in office and fled the country.
In 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, died in Redding, Connecticut, at age 74.
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APRIL 22
On April 22, 2000, in a dramatic pre-dawn raid, armed immigration agents seized Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of a custody dispute, from his relatives’ home in Miami; Elian was reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.
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APRIL 23
On April 23, 2005, the recently created video-sharing website YouTube uploaded its first clip, “Me at the Zoo,” which showed YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.
In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States, which responded in kind two days later.
- Princess Grace Kelly waves to cheering crowds lining the road as she rides in an open car with Prince Rainier III following their marriage in a religious wedding ceremony in the Monaco Cathedral, South of France, April 19, 1956. (AP Photo)
- Apollo 13 astronauts Fred W. Haise, James A. Lovell and John L. Swigert, left to right, leave a helicopter to step aboard carrier Iwo Jima in the Pacific ocean after their successful recovery on Friday, April 17, 1970. (AP Photo)
- Senator Bob Dole, R-Kansas, pays his respects to the late boxer Joe Louis Tuesday, April 21, 1981 in Washington DC. Louis will be buried later Tuesday at Arlington National Cemetery. (AP Photo/Jeff Taylor)
- FOR USE AS DESIRED FOR THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF FENWAY PARK – FILE – In this July 9, 1946, file photo, a capacity crowd watches the annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game game at Fenway Park on Boston. The Red Sox will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway’s opening on April 20, 1912, when they host the New York Yankees. (AP Photo, File)




