1755– Samuel Johnson’s “A Dictionary of the English Language” published in London 1877– 1st telephone installed: Boston-Somerville in Massachusetts 1912– RMS Titanic sinks at 2:27 AM off Newfoundland as the band plays on, with the loss of between 1,490 and 1,635 people. 2003 – U.S. President George W. Bush declared that the government of Saddam Hussein in Iraq had fallen as a result of the Iraq War and the following day asked the United Nations to lift sanctions against Iraq. 2013 – Near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, two homemade bombs were detonated in the crowd of spectators; 3 people were killed and more than 260 were wounded in the terrorist attack. 2019 – The historic Notre-Dame de Paris caught fire during a restoration campaign, and the blaze destroyed most of the cathedral’s roof, the 19th-century spire, and some of the rib vaulting.
Births & Deaths: 1980 – French novelist and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre, who was a leading exponent of existentialism, died. 1989 – Tragedy occurred at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, when a crush of football (soccer) fans resulted in 96 deaths and hundreds of injuries; police mistakes were later blamed for the incident.
Music: 1729– Johann Sebastian Bach’s “St Matthew Passion” premieres in Leipzig
Film: 1990– “In Living Color” premieres on FOX-TV
Sport: 1947 – Jackie Robinson becomes 1st African-American to play in US major league baseball (Dodgers). Via Britannica / On This Day
