1912
Iceberg right ahead!
Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage after it struck an iceberg.
-
1755
Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary of the English Language.
-
1817
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet opened the first free American school for the deaf in Hartford, Conn.
-
1861
In response to the attack on Fort Sumter three days earlier, President Abraham Lincoln declared a state of insurrection and called out Union troops.
-
1920
A paymaster and guard were murdered in Braintree, Mass. Sacco and Vanzetti were accused of the crime.
-
1945
Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen was liberated by Canadian and British forces.
-
1947
Jackie Robinson made his Brooklyn Dodger debut and scored the game-winning run. On April 15, 1997, his number, 42, was retired.
-
1955
Ray Kroc acquired McDonald's and opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Ill., today the official McDonald’s Corporate Museum.
-
1996
The 100th Boston Marathon was won by Moses Tanui of Kenya.
-
1998
Cambodian despot Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, died.
-
2013
Two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing 3 and injuring at least 170 others.
