2002—Venezuelans overrule the generals and their CIA advisors; Hugo Chavez is restored to the Presidency.
1981—Rep. Jon Hinson (R-Miss.) resigns three months after being arrested for attempting to commit oral sodomy in a House restroom. He becomes an advocate for gay rights.
1970—The Apollo 13 moon shot lives up to its numeral.
1962—Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is published.
1953—CIA boss Allen Dulles says it’s MKUltra time: start washing brains.
1919—British troops massacre at least 379 unarmed Indian men women and children at Amritsar.
1917—Prescient President W. Wilson establishes the Committee on Public Information, 67 years prior to 1984.
1901—French anarchist Clement Duval, after 14 years on Devil’s Island, makes his 20th escape attempt. He gets to New York City, lives to be 85, and inspires Papillon.
1873—In Grant Parish, La., the White League and the Klan celebrate Easter Sunday by killing 280 African-Americans in what becomes known as the Colfax Massacre.
1788—Dr. Hicks, in N.Y.C., imprudently waves a detached human arm out the window of his hospital, scaring a child who squeals to papa.
1204—Crusaders take Constantinople for the greater glory of God: murder, rape, looting, and the burning of the Imperial Library ensue.