Updated April 12, 2012, 2:28 pm
On April 13, 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)
Go to article »On April 13, 1906, Samuel Beckett, the Irish-born author, critic, and playwright who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969, was born. Following his death on Dec. 22, 1989, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1598 King Henry IV of France signed the Edict of Nantes, granting rights to the Protestant Huguenots. 1742 George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” was first performed publicly, in Dublin, Ireland. 1861 At the start of the Civil War, Fort Sumter in South Carolina fell to Confederate forces as the Union commander, Maj. Robert Anderson, agreed to surrender in the face of relentless bombardment. 1954 Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron made his major league debut with the Milwaukee Braves. 1964 Sidney Poitier became the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for “Lilies of the Field.” 1970 Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. 1986 Pope John Paul II visited a Rome synagogue in the first recorded papal visit of its kind. 1997 Tiger Woods, 21, became the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament and the first person of African heritage to claim a major golf title. 1999 Jack Kervorkian was sentenced in Pontiac, Mich., to 10 to 25 years in prison for the second-degree murder of a man whose assisted suicide was videotaped and shown on “60 Minutes.” 2011 Ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons were detained for investigation of corruption, abuse of power and killings of protesters. 2011 A federal jury in San Francisco convicted Barry Bonds of obstruction of justice, but failed to reach a verdict on allegations that he’d used steroids and lied to a grand jury about it. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actress-comedian Caroline Rhea turns 48 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
Chess champion Garry Kasparov turns 49 years old today.
AP Photo/Sang Tan
1933 Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Former U.S. senator, R-Colo., turns 79 1935 Lyle Waggoner, Actor, turns 77 1939 Paul Sorvino, Actor, turns 73 1944 Jack Casady, Rock musician (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna), turns 68 1946 Al Green, R&B singer, turns 66 1950 Ron Perlman, Actor, turns 62 1951 Peabo Bryson, R&B singer, turns 61 1951 Max Weinberg, Rock musician (E Street Band), turns 61 1957 Gary Kroeger, Actor, comedian, turns 55 1960 Bob Casey, U.S. senator, D-Pa., turns 52 1964 Davis Love III, Golfer, turns 48 1970 Ricky Schroder, Actor, turns 42
Historic Birthdays
Samuel Beckett 4/13/1906 – 12/22/1989 Irish-born author, critic, and playwright; won the 1969 Nobel Prize for Literature.Go to obituary »
40 Peter Faber 4/13/1506 – 8/1/1546
French Jesuit theologian and co-founder of the Society of Jesus83 Thomas Jefferson 4/13/1743 – 7/4/1826
President of the United States (1801-1809) and author of the Declaration of Independence61 Sir Thomas Lawrence 4/13/1769 – 1/7/1830
English portrait painter and draftsman80 Eli Terry 4/13/1772 – 2/26/1852
American clockmaker and an innovator in mass production59 Sir William Benett 4/13/1816 – 2/1/1875
English pianist, conductor and composer81 Martinez Gonzalez 4/13/1871 – 2/19/1952
Mexican poet, physician and diplomat86 Gyorgy Lukacs 4/13/1885 – 6/4/1971
Hungarian Marxist philosopher, writer and literary critic77 John Hays Hammond Jr. 4/13/1888 – 2/12/1965
American inventor; developed radio remote control81 Sir Robert Watson-Watt 4/13/1892 – 12/5/1973
Scottish physicist; knighted for his role in the development of radar65 John Braine 4/13/1922 – 10/28/1987
English novelist; one of the “Angry Young Men”
