This Day in History
1795: Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle composes "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem.
1800: Congress passes an act to establish the Library of Congress.
1898: Spain declares war on the United States, beginning the Spanish-American War .
1916: The Easter Uprising begins in Dublin, Ireland , as Irish nationalists seize several sites.
1955: The Bandung Conference of Asian and African Countries, a landmark international gathering noted for its strong opposition to colonialism, ends in Indonesia .
1980: Eight Americans are killed and 5 wounded in an ill-fated attempt to rescue the hostages held by Iranian militants.
1981: IBM introduces its first personal computer .
1997: Timothy McVeigh goes on trial for conspiracy and murder in connection with the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK.
2003: Veteran Iraqi diplomat and deputy foreign minister Tariq Aziz surrenders to coalition forces.
Today's Birthdays
1533: William I, prince of Orange who led the fight for Dutch freedom (Dillenburg, Germany; died 1584)
1581: Saint Vincent de Paul, French priest, founder of the Congregation of the Mission (Pouy--now Saint-Vincent de Paul, France; died 1660)
1743: Edmund Cartwright, cleric and inventor (Nottinghamshire, England; died 1823)
1766: Robert Bailey Thomas, founder and editor of The Farmer's Almanac (Grafton, MA; died 1846)
1815: Anthony Trollope, novelist (London, England; died 1882)
1856: Henri Philippe Pétain, French military and political leader (Cauchy-à-la-Tour, France; died 1951)
1905: Robert Penn Warren, poet/novelist/essayist (Guthrie, KY; died 1989)
1907: Willem de Kooning, artist (Rotterdam, Netherlands; died 1997)
1934: Shirley MacLaine, actress/dancer and writer (Richmond, VA)
1940: Sue Grafton, mystery writer (Louisville, KY)
1941: Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. representative to the UN (New York, NY)
1942: Richard M. Daley, Chicago mayor (Chicago, IL). Barbra Streisand, singer/actress/director (Brooklyn, NY):
1953: Eric Bogosian, actor/playwright (Boston, MA)
1954: Vince Ferragamo, football player (Torrance, CA)
1955: Michael O'Keefe, actor (Larchmont, NY)
1964: Cedric the Entertainer, actor/comedian (Jefferson City, MO). Djimon Hounsou, actor (Benin)
1972: Chipper Jones, baseball player (DeLand, FL)
1982: Kelly Clarkson, singer (Burleson, TX)
