On this day in history —

• The United States establishes a permanent navy (1794)
• More than 300 Republic of Texas soldiers are executed by Santa Anna in the Goliad Massacre (1836)
• The Cincinnati Courthouse Riots result in over 50 deaths (1884)
• The first cherry trees are planted along Washington, DC’s Tidal Basin — cover (1912)
• Typhoid Mary is quarantined, and remains in quarantine until her death (1915)
• The deadliest accident in aviation history takes place in Tenerife, Canary Islands, when two Boeing 747s collide (1977)
• The Hunt brothers attempt to corner the silver market fails spectacularly when they receive a margin call for $100 million they cannot meet, triggering widespread panic (1980)
• The Polish labor union Solidarność calls a four-hour national warning strike, and 12 million workers walk off their jobs (1981)
• Viagra® is approved for sale by the US Food and Drug Administration (1998)
• A Hamas suicide bomber attacks a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel, in the deadliest attack against Israeli civilians during the Second Intifada (2002)

It’s the birthday of —

• Buster Posey, baseball player (1987)
• Robert Guerrero, boxer (1983)
• Fergie, singer (1975)
• Nathan Fillion, actor (1971)
• Mariah Carey, singer (1970)
• Quentin Tarantino, director (1963)
• Randall Cunningham, quarterback (1963)
• Xuxa, “Queen of Kids” (1963)
• Robbie Haines, Olympic gold medal sailor (1954)
• Michael York, actor (1942)
• Cale Yarborough, NASCAR driver (1939)
• David Janssen, fugitive (1931)
• Rita Briggs, baseball player (1929)
• Мстисла́в Ростропо́вич (Mstislav Rostropovich), composer (1927)
• Frank O’Hara, writer, poet, art critic (1926)
• Sarah Vaughn, divine one (1924)
• Dick King-Smith, author of The Sheep-Pig, adapted as the movie Babe (1922)
• Cyrus Vance, Secretary of State (1917)
• James Callaghan, UK prime minister, only person to serve in all four of the Great Offices of State (1912)
• Pee Wee Russell, jazz clarinetist (1906)
• Elsie MacGill, first female aircraft designer, “Queen of the Hurricanes” (1905)
• Carl Barks, good duck artist (1901)
• Gloria Swanson, actress (1899)
• René Fonck, Allied Ace of Aces (1894)
• Ferde Grofé, composer (1892)
• Mies van der Rohe, architect (1886)
• Miller Huggins, baseball player (1879)
• Patty Hill, co-author of the song “Happy Birthday to You” (1868)
• Henry Royce, Rolls partner (1863)
• Wilhelm Röntgen, discoverer of x-rays (1845)
• Adolphus Greely, polar explorer (1844)
• Nathaniel Currier, Ives partner (1813)
• Baron Haussmann, Paris planner (1809)

Deaths —

• Paul Williams, music journalist (2013)
• Farley Granger, stranger on a train (2011)
• Dick Giordano, comic book artist (2010)
• Irving R. Levine, television reporter (2009)
• Lyn Nofziger, political consultant (2006)
• Stanislaw Lem, science fiction writer (2006)
• Art James, game show host (2004)
• Paul Zindel, playwright (2003)
• Billy Wilder, director (2002)
• Dudley Moore, pianist and actor (2002)
• Milton Berle, “Mr. Television” (2002)
• Easley Blackwood Sr., bridge player (1992)
• M. C. Escher, impossible artist (1972)
• Ю́рий Гага́рин (Yuri Gagarin), first human in outer space (1968)
• 豊田 喜一郎 (Kiichiro Toyoda), Toyota founder (1952)
• Madeline Astor, Titanic survivor (1940)
• Joe Start, baseball player (1927)
• Henry Adams, historian and memoirist (1918)
• James VI and I, British monarch (1625)

Holidays —