This Day In History

[MedicCook]

April 2nd

1513
Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida.

1792
Congress authorized the first U.S. mint, in Philadelphia.

1865
Confederate president Jefferson Davis and most of his cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va.

1872
Samuel F.B. Morse, developer of the electric telegraph, died at age 80.

1917
President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany.

1932
Aviator Charles Lindbergh, through an intermediary, paid $50,000 ransom in a New York cemetery to a man who promised to return his kidnapped son. (The child was found dead the following month. The ransom money was eventually traced to Bruno Hauptmann, who was executed for the crime.)

1956
As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere on CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.

1968
The science-fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey" had its world premiere in Washington, D.C.

1975
Construction of the CN Tower is completed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It reaches 553.33 metres (1,815.4 ft) in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure.

1978
The first episode of "Dallas" aired on CBS.

1992
Mob boss John Gotti was convicted in New York of murder and racketeering.

2005
Pope John Paul II died.

Birthdays
81 Rita Gam Actress
74 Sharon Acker Actress
68 Dr. Demento Radio personality
67 Leon Russell Singer
64 Linda Hunt Actress
64 Don Sutton Baseball Hall of Famer
60 Pamela Reed Actress
56 David Robinson Rock musician (The Cars)
48 Chris Meloni Actor ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit")
47 Billy Dean Country singer
47 Clark Gregg Actor
45 Jana Marie Hupp Actress
44 Rodney King Victim of police brutality, reality tv personality
43 Bill Romanowski Football player
42 Greg Camp Rock musician (Smash Mouth)
40 Tony Fredianelli Rock musician (Third Eye Blind)
36 Roselyn Sanchez Actress ("Without a Trace")
34 Jill King Country singer
34 Adam Rodriguez Actor ("CSI: Miami")
33 Jeremy Garrett Actor
30 Jesse Carmichael Rock musician (Maroon 5)
28 Bethany Joy Galeotti Actress ("One Tree Hill")
21 Jesse Plemons Actor ("Friday Night Lights")

73 Giovanni Casanova 4/2/1725 - 6/4/1798 Italian writer, soldier and adventurer
65 Erastus B. Bigelow 4/2/1814 - 12/6/1879 American industrialist; founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
70 Frederic Auguste Bartholdi 4/2/1834 - 10/4/1904 French sculptor of Statue of Liberty
58 Hughie Jennings 4/2/1869 - 2/1/1928 Hall of Fame baseball player & manager
65 Walter Chrysler 4/2/1875 - 8/18/1940 American businessman; founder of Chrysler Corporation
83 Luke Appling 4/2/1907 - 1/3/1991 Hall of Fame baseball player
95 Buddy Ebsen 4/2/1908 - 7/6/2003 American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he is best remembered for his starring roles as Jed Clampett in the popular 1960s television series, The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the long-running 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones
62 Jack Webb 4/2/1920 - 12/23/1982 American actor, television producer, director and author, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet
44 Marvin Gaye 4/2/1939 - 4/1/1984 American singer-songwriter and instrumentalist