On This Day: April 5

Updated April 4, 2012, 2:28 pm

On April 5, 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union.

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On April 5, 1856, Booker T. Washington, the educator and reformer who became an important spokesperson for black Americans at the turn of the 20th century, was born. Following his death on Nov. 14, 1915, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1614	Pocahontas, daughter of the leader of the Powhatan tribe, married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia.
1792	George Washington cast the first presidential veto, rejecting a congressional measure for apportioning representatives among the states.
1856	Black educator Booker T. Washington was born in Franklin County, Va.
1895	Playwright Oscar Wilde lost his criminal libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry, who had accused the writer of homosexual practices.
1908	Actress Bette Davis was born in Lowell, Mass.
1951	Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for conspiring to commit espionage for the Soviet Union.
1976	Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes died at age 72.
1984	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the highest-scoring player in NBA history with 31,421 career points. (He still holds the career record with with 38,387 points.)
1987	Fox Broadcasting Co. made its prime-time TV debut.
2008	Actor Charlton Heston died at age 84.
2010	An explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine near Charleston, W.Va., killed 29 workers.
2010	In a televised rescue, 115 Chinese coal miners were freed after spending eight days trapped in a flooded mine, surviving an accident that had killed 38.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Former secretary of state Colin Powell turns 75 years old today.

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Rapper-producer Pharrell Williams turns 39 years old today.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

1922	Gale Storm, Actress, turns 90
1926	Roger Corman, Filmmaker, turns 86
1941	Michael Moriarty, Actor, turns 71
1942	Allan Clarke, Rock singer (The Hollies), turns 70
1943	Max Gail, Actor (“Barney Miller”), turns 69
1944	Peter King, U.S. congressman, R-N.Y., turns 68
1950	Agnetha Faltskog, Singer (ABBA), turns 62
1967	Troy Gentry, Country singer (Montgomery-Gentry), turns 45
1968	Paula Cole, Rock singer, turns 44

 

Historic Birthdays

Booker T. Washington 4/5/1856 – 11/14/1915 American educator and spokesman for black Americans.Go to obituary »

91	Thomas Hobbes 4/5/1588 – 12/4/1679 English philosopher and political theorist
72	Elihu Yale 4/5/1649 – 7/8/1721 American-born English merchant and benefactor of Yale University
74	Jean-Honore Fragonard 4/5/1732 – 8/22/1806 French rococo painter
51	Vincenzo Gioberti 4/5/1801 – 11/26/1852 Italian philosopher, politician and cleric
85	Baron Joseph Lister 4/5/1827 – 2/10/1912 English surgeon and scientist
72	Algernon Chas. Swinburne 4/5/1837 – 4/10/1909 English poet and critic
92	Lincoln Filene 4/5/1865 – 8/27/1957 American business executive and philanthropist; chairman of Federated Department Stores (1929-57)
85	Chester Bowles 4/5/1901 – 5/25/1986 American politician and advertising entrepreneur
81	Bette Davis 4/5/1908 – 10/6/1989 American motion-picture dramatic actress
78	Jagjivan Ram 4/5/1908 – 7/6/1986 Indian politician and spokesman for the untouchables
81	Herbert von Karajan 4/5/1908 – 7/16/1989 Austrian-born conductor
72	Chaim Grade 4/5/1910 – 6/26/1982 Russian-born Yiddish poet, short-story writer and novelist