April 3
1776 - George Washington received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard College.
1783 - Author Washington Irving was born in New York City.
1860 - The Pony Express began service between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California. (The delivery system only lasted 18 months before giving way to the transcontinental telegraph.)
1865 - During the Civil War, Union forces occupied the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
1882 - Outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back by Bob Ford, one of his own gang members, reportedly for a $10,000 reward.
1924 - Actor Marlon Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
1936 - Bruno Hauptmann was electrocuted for the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby.
1942 - During World War II, Japanese forces began their final assault on Bataan against American and Filipino troops who surrendered six days later; the capitulation was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.
1946 - Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander held responsible for the Bataan Death March, was executed by firing squad outside Manila.
1948 - President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which would foster the recovery of war-torn Europe by pledging more than $5 billion in aid to 16 countries.
1965 - The United States launched the SNAP-10A nuclear power system into Earth's orbit; it was the first nuclear reactor sent into space.
1968 - Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "mountaintop" speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, less than 24 hours before he was assassinated.
1974 - The "Super Tornado Outbreak" struck 13 U.S. states.
1996 - Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was arrested in Montana.
1996 - Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown died in a plane crash in Croatia.
1998 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed above 9,000 for the first time.
2000 - A federal judge ruled that Microsoft Corp. had violated U.S. antitrust laws.
2003 - Atlantic magazine editor Michael Kelly, age 46, became the first American journalist to be killed while covering the Iraq war.
2004 - Surrounded by police, five suspects in the Madrid railway bombings blew themselves up in a building outside the Spanish capital, also killing a special forces agent.
2006 - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor pleaded not guilty before an international war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone.
2009 - A Vietnamese immigrant opened fire in an immigrant community center in Binghamton, New York, killing 13 people before taking his own life.
2009 - Iowa's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
Birthdays
20 - Paris Jackson (model)
22 - Sarah Jeffery (actress)
27 - Hayley Kiyoko (actress)
28 - Natasha Negovanlis (actress)
30 - Kam Chancellor (football player)
31 - Rachel Bloom (actress/comedian)
32 - Amanda Bynes (actress)
33 - Leona Lewis (singer)
34 - Chrissie Fit (actress)
36 - Cobie Smulders (actress)
36 - Damien Sandow (professional wrestler)
40 - Matthew Goode (actor)
43 - Aries Spears (comedian)
45 - Adam Scott (actor)
45 - Jamie Bamber (actor)
46 - Jennie Garth (actress)
47 - Picabo Street (skier)
48 - James MacDonough (singer)
50 - Sebastian Bach (singer)
57 - Eddie Murphy (actor/comedian)
59 - David Hyde Pierce (actor)
60 - Alec Baldwin (actor)
62 - Mick Mars (musician)
63 - John Mooney (musician/singer)
74 - Tony Orlando (singer)
76 - Wayne Newton (singer)
76 - Marsha Mason (actress)
77 - Eric Braeden (actor)
84 - Jane Goodall (conservationist)
96 - Doris Day (actress/singer)
==========================================
Today in Sports History - April 3
1930 - The Montreal Canadiens sweep the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.
1955 - The Baltimore Orioles record the first triple play in franchise history in a game against the Kansas City Athletics.
1976 - The Philadelphia Flyers win an NHL record-tying 20th consecutive home game.
1977 - The Montreal Canadiens become the first team in NHL history to win 60 games in a season. They finished the regular season with a record of 60-8-12.
1985 - The MLB Players Association agrees to a proposal from team owners to expand the 1985 League Championship Series from a best-of-five format to best-of-seven.
1988 - Mario Lemieux wins the NHL scoring title, snapping a seven-year streak of Wayne Gretzky winning the title.
1989 - Michigan defeats Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime to win the NCAA Tournament.
1995 - UCLA defeats Arkansas 89-78 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2000 - Michigan State defeated Florida 89-76 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2005 - WrestleMania 21 was held in Los Angeles. The main event featured John Cena defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield for the WWE Championship and Batista defeating Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship.
2005 - Alex Sanchez becomes the first major league baseball player to be publicly identified under baseball's new steroid policy. The Tampa Bay outfielder will be suspended for ten days for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
2006 - Florida defeated UCLA 73-57 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2011 - WrestleMania XXVII was held at Atlanta. The main event featured Edge defeating Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship and The Miz defeating John Cena for the WWE Championship.
2016 - WrestleMania 32 was held at Arlington, Texas. The main event featured Roman Reigns defeating Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, The Rock defeating Erick Rowan and The Undertaker defeating Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell match.
2017 - The NHL announced it would not have its players participate in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.
2017 - North Carolina defeated Gonzaga 71-65 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1776 - George Washington received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard College.
1783 - Author Washington Irving was born in New York City.
1860 - The Pony Express began service between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California. (The delivery system only lasted 18 months before giving way to the transcontinental telegraph.)
1865 - During the Civil War, Union forces occupied the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
1882 - Outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back by Bob Ford, one of his own gang members, reportedly for a $10,000 reward.
1924 - Actor Marlon Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska.
1936 - Bruno Hauptmann was electrocuted for the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby.
1942 - During World War II, Japanese forces began their final assault on Bataan against American and Filipino troops who surrendered six days later; the capitulation was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.
1946 - Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander held responsible for the Bataan Death March, was executed by firing squad outside Manila.
1948 - President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan, which would foster the recovery of war-torn Europe by pledging more than $5 billion in aid to 16 countries.
1965 - The United States launched the SNAP-10A nuclear power system into Earth's orbit; it was the first nuclear reactor sent into space.
1968 - Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "mountaintop" speech to a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, less than 24 hours before he was assassinated.
1974 - The "Super Tornado Outbreak" struck 13 U.S. states.
1996 - Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was arrested in Montana.
1996 - Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown died in a plane crash in Croatia.
1998 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed above 9,000 for the first time.
2000 - A federal judge ruled that Microsoft Corp. had violated U.S. antitrust laws.
2003 - Atlantic magazine editor Michael Kelly, age 46, became the first American journalist to be killed while covering the Iraq war.
2004 - Surrounded by police, five suspects in the Madrid railway bombings blew themselves up in a building outside the Spanish capital, also killing a special forces agent.
2006 - Former Liberian President Charles Taylor pleaded not guilty before an international war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone.
2009 - A Vietnamese immigrant opened fire in an immigrant community center in Binghamton, New York, killing 13 people before taking his own life.
2009 - Iowa's Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.
Birthdays
20 - Paris Jackson (model)
22 - Sarah Jeffery (actress)
27 - Hayley Kiyoko (actress)
28 - Natasha Negovanlis (actress)
30 - Kam Chancellor (football player)
31 - Rachel Bloom (actress/comedian)
32 - Amanda Bynes (actress)
33 - Leona Lewis (singer)
34 - Chrissie Fit (actress)
36 - Cobie Smulders (actress)
36 - Damien Sandow (professional wrestler)
40 - Matthew Goode (actor)
43 - Aries Spears (comedian)
45 - Adam Scott (actor)
45 - Jamie Bamber (actor)
46 - Jennie Garth (actress)
47 - Picabo Street (skier)
48 - James MacDonough (singer)
50 - Sebastian Bach (singer)
57 - Eddie Murphy (actor/comedian)
59 - David Hyde Pierce (actor)
60 - Alec Baldwin (actor)
62 - Mick Mars (musician)
63 - John Mooney (musician/singer)
74 - Tony Orlando (singer)
76 - Wayne Newton (singer)
76 - Marsha Mason (actress)
77 - Eric Braeden (actor)
84 - Jane Goodall (conservationist)
96 - Doris Day (actress/singer)
==========================================
Today in Sports History - April 3
1930 - The Montreal Canadiens sweep the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.
1955 - The Baltimore Orioles record the first triple play in franchise history in a game against the Kansas City Athletics.
1976 - The Philadelphia Flyers win an NHL record-tying 20th consecutive home game.
1977 - The Montreal Canadiens become the first team in NHL history to win 60 games in a season. They finished the regular season with a record of 60-8-12.
1985 - The MLB Players Association agrees to a proposal from team owners to expand the 1985 League Championship Series from a best-of-five format to best-of-seven.
1988 - Mario Lemieux wins the NHL scoring title, snapping a seven-year streak of Wayne Gretzky winning the title.
1989 - Michigan defeats Seton Hall 80-79 in overtime to win the NCAA Tournament.
1995 - UCLA defeats Arkansas 89-78 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2000 - Michigan State defeated Florida 89-76 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2005 - WrestleMania 21 was held in Los Angeles. The main event featured John Cena defeating John "Bradshaw" Layfield for the WWE Championship and Batista defeating Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship.
2005 - Alex Sanchez becomes the first major league baseball player to be publicly identified under baseball's new steroid policy. The Tampa Bay outfielder will be suspended for ten days for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
2006 - Florida defeated UCLA 73-57 to win the NCAA Tournament.
2011 - WrestleMania XXVII was held at Atlanta. The main event featured Edge defeating Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship and The Miz defeating John Cena for the WWE Championship.
2016 - WrestleMania 32 was held at Arlington, Texas. The main event featured Roman Reigns defeating Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, The Rock defeating Erick Rowan and The Undertaker defeating Shane McMahon in a Hell in a Cell match.
2017 - The NHL announced it would not have its players participate in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.
2017 - North Carolina defeated Gonzaga 71-65 to win the NCAA Tournament.
