Today in History for 20th April 2018:
Historical Events
295 – 8th recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet
1657 – Battle in Santa Cruz Bay, Tenerife: English fleet under Robert Blake sinks Spanish silver fleet
1899 – David Beatty is appointed executive officer of the HMS Barfleur, a small battleship and flagship of the China Station
1994 – Serbian army bombs hospital in Goradze Bosnia, 47 killed
1997 – “Present Laughter” closes at Walter Kerr Theater NYC
2015 – 119th Boston Marathon: Lelisa Desisa Benti of Ethiopia 1st man in 2:09:17 and Caroline Rotich of Kenya 1st woman in 2:24:55
Famous Birthdays
1866 – Victor Hollaender, German composer, born in Leobschutz, Silesia (d. 1940)
1895 – Emile Christian, American jazz trombonist, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1973)
1963 – Aubrey de Grey, British biomedical gerontologist
1967 – Lara Jill Miller, actress (Samantha-Gimme a Break), born in Allentown, Pennsylvania
1971 – Chris Penn, NFL wide receiver (KC Chiefs, Chicago Bears)
1976 – Shay Given, Irish footballer
Famous Deaths
1632 – Nicolas Antione, converted to Judiasm, burned at the stake
1703 – Lancelot Addison, English royal chaplain (b. 1632)
1947 – Christian X, king of Denmark (1912-47), dies at 76
1977 – Sepp Herberger, German football coach and manager (West German National Team), dies at 80
1992 – Johnny Shines, American delta blues singer/guitarist, dies at 76
2015 – Sir Raymond Carr, English historian and warden (St Antony’s College Oxford), dies at 96