sábado, 16 de abril de 2011

On This Day: April 16

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On April 16, 1947, America's worst harbor explosion occurred in Texas City, Texas, when the French ship Grandcamp, carrying ammonium nitrate fertilizer, caught fire and blew up, devastating the town. Another ship, the Highflyer, exploded the following day. The explosions and resulting fires killed more than 500 people and left 200 others missing.
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On April 16, 1889, Sir Charlie Chaplin, the British-born actor and director who became internationally famous for his role in American silent movies, was born. Following his death on Dec. 25, 1977, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

1808	A law prohibiting the importation of slaves into the United States went into effect.
1892	The Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York opened.
1898	New York City was consolidated into five buroughs.
1901	The Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed.
1919	J.D. Salinger, author of "The Catcher in the Rye," was born in New York City.
1953	Country singer Hank Williams Sr., 29, died of a drug and alcohol overdose.
1958	Treaties establishing the European Economic Community went into effect.
1959	Fidel Castro led Cuban revolutionaries to victory over Fulgencio Batista.
1979	The United States and China established diplomatic relations.
1984	AT&T was divested of its 22 Bell System companies under terms of an antitrust agreement.
1990	David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first African-American mayor.
1993	Czechoslovakia peacefully split into two new countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
1994	The North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect.
1999	The euro became the official currency of 11 European countries.

Current Birthdays

Actor Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon") turns 73 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., turns 57 years old today.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

1922	Ernest Hollings, Former U.S. senator, D-S.C., turns 89
1942	Country Joe McDonald, Rock singer, musician (Country Joe and the Fish), turns 69
1943	Don Novello, Comedian, turns 68
1947	Jon Corzine, Former governor of New Jersey, turns 64
1958	Grandmaster Flash, Rapper, turns 53
1964	Dedee Pfeiffer, Actress, turns 47
1966	Embeth Davidtz, Actress, turns 45
1969	Verne Troyer, Actor ("Austin Powers" movies), turns 42

Historic Birthdays

Sir Charlie Chaplin4/16/1889 - 12/25/1977English-born American motion- picture actor and director.Go to obituary »

70	Henry Mancini 4/16/1924 - 6/14/1994 American composer
73	Sir Kingsley Amis 4/16/1922 - 10/22/1995 English novelist, poet and critic
67	Nikolay P. Akimov 4/16/1901 - 9/6/1968 Russian scenic designer and producer
38	John M. Synge 4/16/1871 - 3/24/1909 Irish poetic dramatist
45	Wilbur Wright 4/16/1867 - 5/30/1912 American inventor and aviation pioneer
80	Anatole France 4/16/1844 - 10/12/1924 French writer; won the Nobel Prize for Literature (1921)
72	Ford Madox Brown 4/16/1821 - 10/6/1893 English painter
61	Sir John Franklin 4/16/1786 - 6/11/1847 English rear admiral and explorer
87	Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun 4/16/1755 - 3/30/1842 French painter
93	Sir Hans Sloane 4/16/1660 - 1/11/1753 English physician and naturalist