April 15
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.
1912
Titanic sank off the coast of Newfoundland on its maiden voyage after it struck an iceberg.
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.
Birthdays
Leonardo da Vinci
Pronunciation: [du vin´chE, Ital. lAOnär´dO dä vEn´chE]
1452–1519, Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, and scientist, born near Vinci, a hill village in Tuscany.
Henry James
novelist (1843)
A. Philip Randolph
labor leader (1889)
Bessie Smith
singer (1894)
Evelyn Ashford
athlete (1957)