Today in History

April 20 – Today In History
1770-Captain Cook discovers Australia

1841-Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story is published.

1861 - Robert E. Lee officially resigned from the U.S. Army. He would later command the Confederate forces in the Civil War.

1918- The legendary Red Baron claimed his 79th and 80th victories.1935 - “Your Hit Parade” made its debut on radio!

1971 Barbra Streisand records "We've Only Just Begun" and US Supreme Court upholds use of busing to achieve racial desegregation
1972 Apollo 16's Young & Duke land on Moon with Boeing Lunar Rover #2
1974 Paul McCartney releases "Band on the Run"
1977 - “Annie Hall” starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton opened today.
1980 Cubans begin to arrive in US from Mariel boatlift
1990 Pete Rose pleads guilty to hiding $300,000 in income
1992 100th episode of "Murphy Brown" airs
1996 Chicago Bulls win record 72 games in a season
1998-Bill Gates' promo on his new product Windows 98 goes wrong...it crashes during his presentation
1999 - The massacre at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado resulted in the deaths of 12 students and 1 teacher, wounding 25 and eventually shooting themselves.


Sharing A Birthday Today…
Bruce Cabot who starred in the original “King Kong” and “The Green Berets” was born in 1904.
Veronica Cartwright who appeared in “Alien” was born in 1950.
Carmen Electra who appeared on TV’s “Baywatch” and in the films “Starsky & Hutch” and “Scary Movie” (and “Scary Movie 4”) was born in 1972.
Crispin Glover who appeared in “Back to the Future” and “Twister” was born in 1964.
Adolf Hitler the former Fuhrer of Nazi Germany was born in 1889.
Clint Howard who appeared in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and as Johnson in the “Austin Powers” movies was born in 1959.
Jessica Lange the Oscar winning actress of such films as “Tootsie”, “Rob Roy” and “Sweet Dreams” was born in 1949.
Joey Lawrence who starred on TV’s “Gimme A Break”, “Blossom” and “Dancing With the Stars” alumni was born in 1976.
David Leland the man behind the camera for the miniseries “Band of Brothers” was born in 1947.
Lara Jill Miller who starred as Sam on TV’s “Gimme a Break” was born in 1967.
Ryan O’Neal who starred in “Love Story” and “Paper Moon” was born in 1941.
Leslie Phillips who starred in “Venus” and as the voice of the Sorting Hat in the “Harry Potter” films was born in 1924.
Edie Sedgwick the actress/model and muse for Andy Warhol was born in 1943.
Andy Serkis who appeared in the “Lord of the Rings” movies as Gollum/Smeagol was born in 1964.
Steve Spurrier the renowned football coach of the University of Florida and the University of South Carolina was born in 1945.
George Takei the actor best known for his portrayal of Sulu in TV’s (and the movies) “Star Trek” was born in 1937. Some reports have the year as 1940.
Luther Vandross the singer of such hits as “Here and Now” was born in 1951.


We Said Goodbye To…
Benny Hill the infamous actor/comedian passed away in 1992 at the age of 68.
Pontiac Chief of the Ottawa Indians died in 1769 at the age of 49.
Rick Rood best known to wrestling fans as “Ravishing” Rick Rude passed away in 1999 at the age of 40.
Don Siegel the man behind the camera of “Dirty Harry” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” passed away in 1991 at the age of 78.
Bram Stoker the author of “Dracula” passed away in 1912 at the age of 64.


Top Of The Charts On This Day In…
1957 - “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley
1974 - “The Sound of Philadelphia” by MFSB
1991 - “You’re In Love” by Wilson Phillips
2002 - “Foolish” by Ashanti
2002 - On The Country Charts – “My List” by Toby Keith


Memorable Sports Moments In…
1912 - Two renowned baseball stadiums officially opened today. Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts had its first professional baseball game when the Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders by a score of 7 to 6. The second park was Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan.
1986 - Michael Jordan set a new NBA scoring record when he garnered 63 points in the Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics game.