Today is Monday, April 10, the 100th day of 2006. There are 265 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, on its ill-fated maiden voyage.
On this date:
In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was incorporated.
In 1925, the novel “The Great Gatsby,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first published.
In 1932, German president Paul Von Hindenburg was re-elected, with Adolf Hitler coming in second.
In 1953, the three-dimensional horror movie “House of Wax,” produced by Warner Brothers and starring Vincent Price, premiered in New York.
In 1963, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Thresher failed to surface off Cape Cod, Mass., in a disaster that claimed 129 lives.
In 1972, the United States and the Soviet Union joined some 70 nations in signing an agreement banning biological warfare.
In 1974, Golda Meir announced her resignation as prime minister of Israel.
In 1981, imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands won election to the British Parliament.
In 1981, the long-awaited maiden launch of the space shuttle Columbia was scrubbed because of a computer malfunction.
In 1998, the Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators reached a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.
Ten years ago: President Clinton vetoed a bill that would have outlawed a technique used to end pregnancies in their late stages.
Five years ago: Republican Jane Swift took office as the first female governor of Massachusetts, succeeding Paul Cellucci, who’d resigned to become U.S. ambassador to Canada. The Netherlands legalized mercy killings and assisted suicide for patients with unbearable, terminal illness. Rap star Eminem was sentenced to two years’ probation for carrying a concealed weapon outside a Michigan nightclub.
One year ago: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived in Texas to meet with President Bush. Tiger Woods won his fourth Masters with a spectacular finish of birdies and bogeys.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Harry Morgan is 91. Actor Max von Sydow is 77. Actress Liz Sheridan is 77. Actor Omar Sharif is 74. Author David Halberstam is 72. Sportscaster John Madden is 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bobbie Smith (The Spinners) is 70. Sportscaster Don Meredith is 68. Reggae artist Bunny Wailer is 59. Actor Steven Seagal is 55. Folk-pop singer Terre Roche (The Roches) is 53. Actor Peter MacNicol is 52. Rock musician Steven Gustafson (10,000 Maniacs) is 49. Singer-producer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is 48. Rock singer-musician Brian Setzer is 47. Rapper Afrika Bambaataa is 46. Rock singer Katrina Leskanich is 46. Actor Jeb Adams is 45. Olympic gold medal speedskater Cathy Turner is 44. Rock musician Tim “Herb” Alexander is 41. Actor-comedian Orlando Jones is 38. Singer Kenny Lattimore is 36. Blues singer Shemekia Copeland is 27. Actress Chyler Leigh is 24. Actor Ryan Merriman is 23. Singer Mandy Moore is 22. Actor Haley Joel Osment is 18.
Thought for Today: “What is more unwise than to mistake uncertainty for certainty, falsehood for truth?” — Cicero, Roman orator, statesman and philosopher (106-43 B.C.)