April 03
1860
First pony express service began.
1882
Outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back by Bob Ford, one of his own gang members, reportedly for a $10,000 reward.
1930
Ras Tafari became Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.
1936
Bruno Hauptmann was electrocuted for the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby.
1948
President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which would foster the recovery of war-torn Europe.
1974
“Super Tornado Outbreak” strikes 13 U.S. states.
1996
U.S. commerce secretary Ronald Brown died in plane crash in Croatia.
2004
A suspect in Madrid’s March bombings blew up himself and three others.
Birthdays
Washington Irving
1783–1859, American author and diplomat, born in New York City.
Mary Carpenter
educator (1807)
William Marcy Tweed
politician (1823)
Henry Robinson Luce
publisher (1898)
Marlon Brando
actor (1924)
Virgil “Gus” Grissom
astronaut (1926)
Jane Goodall
ethnologist (1934)
Eddie Murphy
actor (1961)