Today in History, Thursday April 11th
Published 1:30 am Thursday, April 11, 2019
Today is Thursday, April 11, the 101st day of 2019. There are 264 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight: On April 11, 1945, during World War II, American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in Germany.
On this date:
In 1921, Iowa became the first state to impose a cigarette tax, at 2 cents a package.
In 1966, Frank Sinatra recorded the song “Strangers in the Night” for his label, Reprise Records.
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which included the Fair Housing Act, a week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1970, Apollo 13, with astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert, blasted off on its ill-fated mission to the moon.
In 1974, Palestinian gunmen killed 16 civilians, mostly women and children, in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shemona.
Today’s Birthdays: Ethel Kennedy is 91. Actor Joel Grey is 87. Actress Louise Lasser is 80. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Ellen Goodman is 78. Movie writer-director John Milius is 75. Actor Peter Riegert is 72. Movie director Carl Franklin is 70. Actor Bill Irwin is 69. Country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 62. Songwriter-producer Daryl Simmons is 62. Rock musician Nigel Pulsford is 58. Actor Lucky Vanous is 58. Country singer Steve Azar is 55. Singer Lisa Stansfield is 53.
Thought for Today: “If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed, and color, we would find some other causes for prejudice by noon.” — George Aiken, U.S. Senator (1892-1984).
—Associated Press
