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Today in History — April 20

Celebrity birthdays, highlights in history, plus more facts about this day.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Today is Friday, April 20, the 110th day of 2007. There are 255 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 20, 1999, the Columbine High School massacre took place in Littleton, Colo., as two students shot and killed 12 classmates and one teacher before taking their own lives.

On this date:

In 1812, the fourth vice president of the United States, George Clinton, died in Washington at age 73, becoming the first vice president to die while in office.

In 1836, Congress voted to establish the Wisconsin Territory.

In 1889, Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.

In 1945, during World War II, allied forces took control of the German cities of Nuremberg and Stuttgart.

In 1968, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister of Canada.

In 1971, the Supreme Court, in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, unanimously upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.

In 1972, the manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.

In 1977, the Supreme Court, in Wooley v. Maynard, said car owners could refuse to display state mottoes on license plates, such as New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die.”

In 1978, a Korean Air Lines Boeing 707 crash-landed in northwestern Russia after being fired on by a Soviet interceptor after entering Soviet airspace. Two passengers were killed.

In 1980, the first Cubans sailing to the United States as part of the massive Mariel boatlift reached Florida.

Ten years ago: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escaped indictment in an influence-peddling scandal, with prosecutors saying they lacked evidence. Hwang Jang Yop, a high-ranking North Korean defector, arrived in South Korea, ending a 67-day odyssey that began in China.

Five years ago: Representatives of the Group of Seven countries, meeting in Washington, agreed to intensify efforts to combat terrorist financing and also adopted a plan to better deal with international debt crises.

One year ago: President Bush welcomed Chinese President Hu Jintao to the White House; the ceremony was interrupted by a protester who shouted to Bush to stop the Chinese leader from “persecuting the Falun Gong.” Bowing to intense pressure, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari agreed to abandon his claim to another term. Scott Crossfield, the hotshot test pilot who in 1953 became the first man to fly at twice the speed of sound, was killed in the crash of his small plane in Georgia.

Today’s Birthdays: Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is

87. Actress Nina Foch is 83. Actor Leslie Phillips is 83. Actor George Takei is 70. Singer Johnny Tillotson is 68. Actor Ryan O’Neal is 66. Bluegrass singer-musician Doyle Lawson (Quicksilver) is 63. Rock musician Craig Frost (Grand Funk; Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band) is 59. Actor Gregory Itzin is 59. Actress Jessica Lange is 58. Actor Clint Howard is 48. Actor Crispin Glover is 43. Country singer Wade Hayes is 38. Actor Shemar Moore is 37. Rock musician Mikey Welsh is 36. Actress Carmen Electra is 35. Reggae singer Stephen Marley is 35. Rock musician Marty Crandall (The Shins) is 32. Actor Joey Lawrence is 31.

Thought for Today: “Life is made up of desires that seem big and vital one minute, and little and absurd the next. I guess we get what’s best for us in the end.” — Alice Caldwell Rice, American humorist (1870-1942).