Lincoln’s body departs Washington 160 years ago this hour (Apr 21 1865)


Video: 'Ken.Burns.The.Civil.War.9of9.The.Better.Angels.Of.Our.Nature' (Lincoln's casket departs at 21:16)

(Friday, April 21, 1865, 8:00 a.m. local time; during the American Civil War) — The remains U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and his deceased son, William Wallace Lincoln, left Washington, D.C., today for the 1,654 mile journey to Springfield, Illinois, for burial. Continue reading Lincoln’s body departs Washington 160 years ago this hour (Apr 21 1865)

South Vietnamese President Thieu resigns as Communist forces close in on Saigon 50 years ago this hour (Apr 21 1975)


Video: 'Vietnam a Television History Episode 11' (Apr. 21, 1975, at 40:32)

(Monday, April 21, 1975, 8:40 p.m. Saigon Standard Time; during the 1975 Spring Offensive of the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War) — With Communist forces closing in, South Vietnam’s President Nguyen Van Thieu denouncing the United States as untrustworthy, resigned tonight after 10 years in office. Continue reading South Vietnamese President Thieu resigns as Communist forces close in on Saigon 50 years ago this hour (Apr 21 1975)

Xuan Loc falls to North Vietnamese communist troops 50 years ago today (Apr 21 1975)


Video: 'Vietnam a Television History Episode 11' (Apr. 21, 1975, at 39:59)

(Monday, April 21, 1975; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and Cold War) — The Battle of Xuan Loc, the last major battle of the Vietnam War in which South Vietnamese army committed almost all their remaining mobile forces under General Le Minh Dao to the defense of Xuan Loc, ended today with a North Vietnamese strategic victory.

Soviet tanks reach the outskirts of Berlin 80 years ago today (Apr 21 1945)

Video: 'The World At War 1973(World War II Documentary)Episode 21-Nemesis:Germany(February-May 1945)' (Apr. 21, 1945, at 28:15)

(Saturday, April 21, 1945; during the Battle of Berlin on the Eastern Front during World War II) — Soviet tanks thundered into the northeastern suburbs of Berlin today, breaching the Nazi capital’s final outer defenses in a meticulously planned offensive aimed at delivering the death blow to Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich. Continue reading Soviet tanks reach the outskirts of Berlin 80 years ago today (Apr 21 1945)

‘Soon’ by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and His Orchestra tops debut ‘Your Hit Parade’ weekly music chart 90 years ago this hour (Apr 20 1935)

(Saturday, April 20, 1935, 8:00 p.m. EST) — “Soon” by Bing Crosby With Georgie Stoll and His Orchestra peaked at #1 on today’s debut Your Hit Parade weekly music chart for one week. Continue reading ‘Soon’ by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and His Orchestra tops debut ‘Your Hit Parade’ weekly music chart 90 years ago this hour (Apr 20 1935)

Allied forces take control of Nuremberg, Germany 80 years ago tonight (Apr 20 1945)


Video: 'April 20th, 1945 in Nuremberg'

(Friday, April 20, 1945, evening CEST; during the Battle of Nuremberg (1945), part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany during World War II) — The United States Seventh Army tonight – coincidentally on Hitler’s 56th birthday – captured the center of Nuremberg, Germany, the second largest city of Bavaria and the high shrine of the Nazi party, capturing the outskirts of Erlenstegen and Buch.

Hitler briefly emerges from Berlin bunker on his 56th birthday 80 years ago this hour (Apr 20 1945)


Image: 'Video: Adolf Hitler: The Last Days of the Dictator | Documentary' (Apr. 20, 1945, at 13:54; note: last known moving pictures of Hitler were captured on Mar. 20, 1945)

(Friday, April 20, 1945, approximately 3:00 p.m. Central European Summer Time; during the Battle of Berlin on the Eastern Front during World War II) — As the Red Army’s tanks pressed into the outskirts of Berlin and a mournful air raid siren echoed through the battered city at dawn, Germany’s Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler marked his 56th birthday today in the gloom of his underground Führerbunker, facing the collapse of his regime and the encirclement of the capital. Continue reading Hitler briefly emerges from Berlin bunker on his 56th birthday 80 years ago this hour (Apr 20 1945)

Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ‘Carousel’ opens on Broadway 80 years ago this hour (Apr 19 1945)


Video: '"If I Loved You" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel (stage version)'

(Thursday, April 19, 1945, 8:15 p.m. EWT)Carousel the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics) about a carousel barker whose romance with a millworker comes at the price of both their jobs, opened tonight on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre.

‘Bride of Frankenstein’ premieres in San Francisco 90 years ago this hour (Apr 19 1935)


Video: 'Bride of Frankenstein' (trailer)

(Good Friday, April 19, 1935, 3:00 p.m. PST)Bride of Frankenstein, a horror film about Baron Frankenstein who is forced to tempt fate once again by creating a suitable mate for his monster, premiered today in San Francisco. Continue reading ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ premieres in San Francisco 90 years ago this hour (Apr 19 1935)