On This Day April 20

2004
President Bush on Wiretapping: "Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires -- a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution."

1999
Columbine High School massacre: Two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, go on a shooting rampage at their Colorado high school, killing twelve students and a teacher, wounding twenty-four others, and then committing suicide.

1987
Billionaire Boys Club: Joe Hunt is convicted of first degree murder. This crime was the basis for the 1987 movie.

1971
Busing: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the use of busing to end segregation in public schools is constitutional.

1959
First TV Man-to-Man Kiss: A Sicilian Capo (Neville Brand) gives the "kiss of death" to Mafia soldier (Frank DeKova) in Untouchables: The Scarface Mob (pilot for the Untouchables).

1959
Dolly Parton: The 13-year-old singer releases her first single: Puppy Love.

1940
Electron microscope is publicly demonstrated for the first time, by the Radio Corporation of America Laboratory in New Jersey. It had a magnification of 100,000 diameters.

1887
First automobile race: The race, organized by a French cycling magazine in Paris, is won by Georges Bouton, the only entrant.

1862
Pasteurization: Louis Pasteur completes the first test of his method of preserving foods. He opened a jar of dog's blood and urine that had been sealed since March 3. It showed no signs of decay.

1949
Jessica Lange, American actress. Film: King Kong (1976, King Kong's main squeeze).

1941
Ryan O'Neal, American actor. Film: Paper Moon (1973). TV: Peyton Place (Rodney Harrington).

1928 d. 2003
Gerald S. Hawkins, English astronomer and mathematician. He showed that Stonehenge was an ancient astronomical observatory (1963).

1914
Robert Galambos, American physiologist. He and Donald Griffin proved that bats use echolocation for night flight.

1893 d. 1971
Harold Lloyd, American comic actor, known for his dangerous stunts. Film: Grandma's Boy (1922), Safety Last (1923), and The Kid Brother (1927).

1889 d. 1945
Adolf Hitler, German Nazi leader, started World War II by invading Poland (1939) and was Time magazine's 1938 "Man of the Year." It is reported he committed suicide with his mistress, whom he had married the day before, although their bodies were never found.

1850 d. 1931
Daniel Chester French, American artist. He built the statue of Abraham Lincoln which is in the Lincoln Memorial Building and the famous statue of The Minute Man (1794).

1786 d. 1875
Robert Marc Séguin, the Elder, French engineer. He and Guillaume Henry Dufour designed and built the first permanent wire-cable suspension bridge (1823).

1745 d. 1826
Philippe Pinel, French physician, "father of modern psychiatry." He pioneered the humane treatment of the mentally ill and opposed the commonly-held belief that mental illness was caused by demonic possession.

570 d. 632
Muhammad (Muhammad ibn Abdulla), founder of Islam. According to the Muslim belief, he was given the verses of the Qur'an by the Angel Gabriel.

1993 b. 1911
Cantinflas (Mario Moreno), Mexican clown, superstar of Spanish-speaking films, called the "Charlie Chaplin of Mexico." Charlie Chaplin described him as "the world's greatest comedian." Film: Around the World in 80 Days (1956, as Passepartout).

1992 b. 1925
Benny Hill, British comedian, singer. Music: Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West) (1971, British #1).

1968 b. 1877
Rudolph Dirks, American cartoonist, creator of Katzenjammer Kids (1897).

1964 b. 1900
Eddie Dyer, American baseball player, manager. He was the first rookie manager to win the World Series (1946, St. Louis Cardinals).

1912 b. 1847
Bram Stoker, English author. Writings: Dracula (1897).

1908 b. 1824
Henry Chadwick, American sports writer, wrote the first baseball rule book (1858).

1856 b. 1787
Robert Livingston Stevens, American inventor, steamboat and railroad engineer. He was the first to build railroad tracks using logs turned crosswise, with spikes to hold the rails on.

1812 b. 1739
George Clinton, American Revolutionary soldier, 4th U.S. Vice-President (1805-12), first governor of New York.

1769 b. circa 1719
Pontiac, Ottawa Indian chief. He is credited with leading "Pontiac's Rebellion," against the British military occupation of the Great Lakes region.

1607 b. 1655
Johann Christoph Denner, German woodwind instrument maker, invented the clarinet.

April 20

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