Today is Friday, April 10, the 101st day of 2020. There are 265 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On April 10, 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.
On this date:
In 1815, the Mount Tambora volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa exploded in one of the largest eruptions in recorded history, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.
In 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a day after surrendering the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, said farewell to his men, praising them for their “unsurpassed courage and fortitude.”
In 1916, the Professional Golfers’ Association of America was founded in New York.
In 1925, the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel “The Great Gatsby” was first published by Scribner’s of New York.
In 1932, German President Paul Von Hindenburg was reelected in a runoff, with Adolf Hitler coming in second.
In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers President Branch Rickey purchased the contract of Jackie Robinson from the Montreal Royals.
In 1966, English author Evelyn Waugh, 62, died in Combe Florey, Somerset, England.
In 1968, “In the Heat of the Night” won best picture of 1967 at the 40th Academy Awards; one of its stars, Rod Steiger, was named best actor while Katharine Hepburn was honored as best actress for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”
In 1971, a table tennis team from the United States arrived in China at the invitation of the communist government for a goodwill visit that came to be known as “ping-pong diplomacy.”
In 1981, imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was declared the winner of a by-election to the British Parliament.
In 1998, the Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators reached a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.
In 2005, Tiger Woods won his fourth Masters with a spectacular finish of birdies and bogeys.
