Video: 'Bombardment of Ie Shima, Invasion Of Okinawa, 04/1945 (full)'
(Monday, April 16, 1945; during the Battle of Okinawa, part of the Pacific Theatre of World War II) — The 77th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army assaulted Ie Island (Ie Shima), a small island off the western end of the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa.
(Saturday, April 15, 1995) — “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan peaked at #1 on today’s Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for seven consecutive weeks (Apr. 15/22/29, May 6/13/20/27, 1995).
Video: 'McDonald's Franchise #1 in Des Plaines, IL'
(Friday, April 15, 1955) — Ray Kroc opened the first franchised McDonald’s restaurant today at 400 North Lee Avenue in Des Plaines, Illinois, near Chicago.
Video: 'FDR: A Presidency Revealed: Part 19' (Apr. 15, 1945, at 2:35)
(Sunday, April 15, 1945, 11:00 a.m. EWT; during World War II) — In the hedge-enclosed garden of his ancestral Hyde Park estate in New York, high above the eternal flow of the Hudson, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was laid at rest this morning in the presence of President Harry S. Truman and ranking officials of this country and representatives of other nations. Continue reading President Franklin Roosevelt buried at Hyde Park 70 years ago this hour (Apr 15 1945)
(Saturday, April 15, 1865, 10:00 a.m.; during the American Civil War) — Vice President Andrew Johnson, 56, was sworn in as the 17th President of the United States this morning, following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Continue reading Andrew Johnson sworn-in as 17th U.S. President 150 years ago this hour (Apr 15 1865)
Video: 'Bergen-Belsen concentration camp'
(Sunday, April 15, 1945, afternoon CEST; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — 60,000 (mostly sick) prisoners at the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle, were liberated today by British and Canadian troops. Continue reading Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen liberated 70 years ago today (Apr 15 1945)
Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 9 - The Better Angels of Our Nature (1865) |Ken Burns Documentary' (Lincoln dies at 17:53)
(Saturday, April 15, 1865, 7:22:10 a.m.; during the American Civil War) — U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, 56, died this morning at the Petersen House in Washington, nine hours after he was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth.
Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton is said to have uttered, “Now he belongs to the ages.”
Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 9 - The Better Angels of Our Nature (1865) |Ken Burns Documentary' (Lincoln assassination at 14:49; shot fired at 15:36)
(Good Friday, April 14, 1865, approximately 10:13 p.m.; during the American Civil War) — John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head near point blank range tonight after entering the presidential box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington during a performance of Our American Cousin. Continue reading President Abraham Lincoln mortally wounded at Ford’s Theatre 150 years ago this hour (Apr 14 1865)
Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 9 - The Better Angels of Our Nature (1865) |Ken Burns Documentary' (Lincoln arrives at 14:07)
(Good Friday, April 14, 1865, 8:30 p.m.; during the American Civil War) — President Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary, Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris arrived at Ford’s Theatre in Washington tonight and settled by into the presidential box. Continue reading The Lincoln party arrives at Ford’s Theater 150 years ago this hour (Apr 14 1865)
Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 9 - The Better Angels of Our Nature (1865) |Ken Burns Documentary' (Booth instructors fellow conspirators at 13:39)
(Good Friday, April 14, 1865, 7:00 p.m.; during the American Civil War) — Actor John Wilkes Booth met for a final time with all his fellow conspirators tonight, instructing Lewis Powell to kill Secretary of State William H. Seward at his home, George Atzerodt to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson at his residence, the Kirkwood Hotel, and David E. Herold to guide Powell to the Seward house and then out of Washington to rendezvous with Booth in Maryland.
Booth planned to shoot President Abraham Lincoln with his single-shot Deringer and then stab Lt. Gen. Grant with a knife at Ford’s Theatre. They were all to strike simultaneously shortly after ten o’clock that night.
