This Week in History

April 16

1972 – China sent President Nixon two giant pandas as a gift.

1999 – Hockey great Wayne Gretzky announced his retirement.

April 17 

Robert Zimmer was born.

1969 – Sirhan Sirhan was convicted for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy.

1970 – The Apollo 13 astronauts safely landed after their near-disastrous flight.

April 18

J.T. Riley was born

Lisa Redmond was born.

Alison Kase was born.

1775 – Paul Revere warned Massachusetts colonists of the arrival of British troops during the American Revolution.

April 19

Jay Ferriola was born.

Chris Gallagher was born.

Theresa Hyland was born.

1897 – The first Boston Marathon was run.

1995 – The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla. was destroyed by a car bomb. 168 people, including 19 children were killed.

April 20 

Erika Farrell was born.

Raymond Scott was born.

1912 – The Boston Red Sox played their first game at Fenway Park. They beat the N.Y. Highlanders (who became the Yankees in 1913) by 7-6.

2008 – Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.

April 21

Kami-Leigh Agard was born.

Sharon Fein Feldman was born.

JP Stathis was born.

Sophia Kohler was born.

1980 – Rosie Ruiz was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. She was later disqualified for cheating.

1997 – The ashes of Timothy Leary, Gene Roddenberry, and 22 others blasted into space for the first space funerals.

April 22

Michael Donohue was born.

Sean McLernon was born.

Richard Tirado was born.

1864 – Congress authorized the inscription “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins.

1970 – The first Earth Day was observed.