1775
Benjamin Rush was among those who founded the first American antislavery society.
1828
Noah Webster copyrighted the first edition of his dictionary.
1860
The first pony express rider reached his destination of San Francisco. He left St. Joseph, Mo., on April 3.
1865
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
1894
The first kinetoscope parlor opened in New York City.
1912
Titanic hit the iceberg that would sink her the next morning.
1969
In a record breaking night at the Academy Awards, a tie between Katherine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand resulted in the two sharing the the Best Actress Oscar and Hepburn broke the record as the only actress to win three Best Actress Oscars.
2002
Hugo Chávez returned as president of Venezuela after being forced out of office two days previously.
2003
Abu Abbas, the leader of the terrorist group Palestine Liberation Front when the group hijacked the liner Achille Lauro, was captured by U.S. forces in Iraq.
2010
An explosion in the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland results in a volcanic ash plume in the atmosphere over northern and central Europe. Air travel in the region is halted for several days.
Courtesy of http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/
