Today in History
Published 1:30 am Monday, April 1, 2019
Today is Monday, April 1, the 91st day of 2019. There are 274 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight: On April 1, 2003, American troops entered a hospital in Nasiriyah (nah-sih-REE’-uh), Iraq, and rescued Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed on March 23.
On this date:
In 1933, Nazi Germany staged a daylong national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses.
In 1945, American forces launched the amphibious invasion of Okinawa during World War II. (U.S. forces succeeded in capturing the Japanese island on June 22.)
In 1954, the United States Air Force Academy was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and television, to take effect after Jan. 1, 1971.
In 1976, Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
In 1987, in his first speech on the AIDS epidemic, President Ronald Reagan told doctors in Philadelphia, “We’ve declared AIDS public health enemy no. 1.”
In 1992, the National Hockey League Players’ Association went on its first-ever strike, which lasted 10 days.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Jane Powell is 90. Actor Don Hastings is 85. Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro is 80. Actress Ali MacGraw is 80. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rudolph Isley is 80. Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff is 71. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is 69. Actress Annette O’Toole is 67.
Thought for Today: “The only sin is mediocrity.” — Martha Graham, American modern dance pioneer (born 1894, died this date in 1991).
—Associated Press
