Replies

The Supreme Allied Commander appreciated the political nature of Paris, but very early in his tenure of his position he had made it known that he would lead the Allied forces operationally and conduct the war without regard to politics. If he committed troops to Paris, he would be breaking his word, for he would make it possible for De Gaulle to enter the city. Eisenhower might thereby impose De Gaulle and his Provisional Government on the French people before elections could be held.

Outside Eisenhower's frame of reference, Paris in August 1944 was the prize of a contest for power among various factions of the French Resistance. The overall aim of the Resistance, to get rid of the Germans, bound together men and women of conflicting philosophies and interests. De Gaulle had organized the Resistance outside France to support his Provisional Government. Inside France, several contingents jockeyed for control. The approach of Allied forces sharpened the political differences. A large and vociferous group on the left competed with De Gaulle for overall leadership.

Governing France was possible only from Paris. The city was the hub of national administration, the center of the transportation system, the focal point of communications. The ancient dictum was right: he who holds Paris rules France. No wonder De Gaulle was so anxious to get to Paris and Leclerc was so frustrated.

Rumors of unrest in the city and talk of a general uprising were additional dangers to De Gaulle, who wanted no social and political upheaval. A revolt in Paris might place his opponents in the seat of political power. Civil disorder might flame into full-scale revolution and anarchy. An insurrection might provoke the Germans into a bloody repression.

Adolf Hitler had ordered his military forces to defend Paris fiercely. He wished the 70-odd bridges in the city prepared for demolition. He expected his troops to battle outside as well as inside the capital. Paris, Hitler instructed, must not fall into Allied hands except as, he said, "a field of ruins."

The commander of Greater Paris, General Dieter von Choltitz, had about 20,000 troops in strong defenses outside the city. No one minded fighting there. He had about 5000 men inside the city. No one wanted to fight there.

Sarcastically, Choltitz explained to his immediate superior how he planned to conform with Hitler's desire. He had put three tons of explosive in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, two tons in the Invalides, one in the Palais Bourbon. He was ready to level the Arch of Triumph to clear a field of fire. He was going to blow up the Opera and the Madeleine church. He expected to dynamite the Eiffel Tower, have it fall across the Seine River, and use it as a wire entanglement to block the waterway. At dinner with his personal staff one evening, he said, "Ever since our enemies have refused to listen to and obey our Fuehrer, the whole war has gone badly."

About 20,000 Resistance members were in Paris, but few were armed. They had routinely destroyed road signs, punctured the tires of German vehicles, cut communication lines, bombed gasoline depots, and attacked isolated Germans. But they had never waged open warfare.

As American forces approached, patriotic excitement flared. By 18 August, more than half of the railroad workers in the city were on strike, and virtually all of the policemen had disappeared from the streets. Several armed Resistance members appeared in public, and a few anti-German demonstrations took place. Lack of a German reaction led small, local Resistance groups, without central direction, to take possession on the very next day, 19 August, of police stations, town halls, national ministries, newspaper buildings, and the Hotel de Ville, city hall. The seizures challenged the Germans.

To avoid an outright clash, Resistance leaders persuaded the Swedish Counsel General in Paris to negotiate with Choltitz. That evening of 19 August, the two men agreed to a truce. No expiration date was stated.

The arrangement was quite nebulous. Choltitz promised to regard certain parts of Paris as Resistance territory. The Resistance consented to leave certain sections of Paris free for the passage of German troops. No boundaries were drawn, and neither side was exactly sure of its area.

The truce was advantageous to both parties. The Resistance was aware of its weakness, uncertain when Allied troops would arrive, hopeful of preserving the capital from harm, and anxious to prevent repressive measures by the Germans. Choltitz, by maintaining order in the city, could devote his attention to engaging the Allies on the approaches to Paris. He could hardly operate outside the city if widespread civilian disorder occurred within.

During the negotiations, Choltitz had made an offhand remark. He was of course unable, he said, to surrender to the irregular troops of the French Resistance. Would he then capitulate to the regular Allied forces? No one knew.

Resistance emissaries departed Paris to seek and urge Allied commanders and De Gaulle to take immediate action. Some brought exaggerated reports of unrest in the capital. Others emphasized Choltitz's apparent desire to give up as soon as Allied troops seized his headquarters in the Hotel Meurice on the rue de Rivoli. The solution to everyone's problem, it seemed, was to get Allied troops into the capital.

On 21 August, De Gaulle met with Eisenhower, who talked of bypassing Paris and who reiterated his acceptance of Leclerc as the eventual liberator. De Gaulle wanted Leclerc in the capital at once. Later that day, De Gaulle sent Eisenhower a letter by messenger. As head of the Provisional Government, he threatened politely to order Leclerc to Paris himself.

Eisenhower read the letter and jotted a note on the margin. He would probably, he wrote, "be compelled to go into Paris."

Five days earlier, on 16 August, the Combined Chiefs of Staff had informed Eisenhower of a change in policy. They now had no objection to De Gaulle's entry into the capital. Most Frenchmen, it was becoming increasingly clear, approved of De Gaulle, and the Allies were ready to recognize his provisional organization as the de facto government of France.

Eisenhower telephoned Bradley, his closest American subordinate commander, and asked for a conference on the following morning, 22 August. Eisenhower wished to discuss a reconsideration of his plans. That evening, Eisenhower set out his dilemma in these words. Although it was desirable to postpone the capture of Paris, it no longer seemed possible. If the Germans held Paris in strength, they would menace the flanks of the Allied troops bypassing the capital. If they conceded the place, "it falls into our hands whether we like it or not."

The problem for Eisenhower was the intrusion of the political into the operational. He could cut Leclerc loose to liberate the capital any way the French desired. But he disliked losing control of Leclerc's men. So long as the division was part of his force, he was loath to approve a political mission for it. Yet the Allies ought to enter to satisfy French aspirations, to maintain order in the capital, to secure important Seine River crossings, and to gain public relations prestige. What Eisenhower needed was a military reason for committing Leclerc to the city.

As Eisenhower and Bradley talked on the morning of 22 August, conflicting news continued to come in. Whether Choltitz was ready to surrender or to fight was unclear. The Resistance apparently controlled most of the city and all of the bridges. The bulk of the Germans had already gone. The defenses outside Paris were inconsequential. Because the truce expired at noon on the following day, 23 August, Allied troops must arrive in Paris at that time to avoid fighting and bloodshed.

Eisenhower finally found a way to resolve the situation. He would send reinforcements to the Resistance who had seized the city and who needed help to hold it. By making available support, Eisenhower would repay the Resistance forces what he called "their great assistance in the campaign."

Reinforcement was a military action. Therefore, Eisenhower could order Leclerc to Paris. The Allies could participate in the movement. The liberation was to be Allied rather than French. Leclerc was to penetrate into Paris first, as Bradley said, "to help the French recapture their pride after four years of occupation." But Allied troops were to accompany the French on their ostensibly military mission to bolster the Resistance in the capital.

Early in the afternoon, the conference terminated, Bradley flew to Hodges' First Army headquarters in order to start the proceedings. He discovered Leclerc waiting at the First Army airstrip. Bradley told him to move immediately to Paris. Leclerc gave a joyous shout and hastened back to his division, while Bradley and Hodges conferred on how to shape the activity. Hodges suggested having Gerow direct the operation. It would be fair, Hodges said. Gerow and General J. Lawton Collins had been the D-Day commanders, and Collins had had the honor of liberating Cherbourg. Now Gerow was to have his moment of glory.

Under Gerow's V Corps headquarters would be Leclerc and, as backup, General Raymond O. Barton's 4th US Infantry Division. American reconnaissance and engineer units and whatever British troops turned up would accompany them. Eisenhower had telephoned Montgomery and asked him to send a British contingent. All who entered the city were to display their national flags. They were to arrive in Paris as soon after noon of 25 August as possible. There was to be no sustained combat in the city.

That evening of 22 August, Gerow telephoned Leclerc and told him no serious opposition was expected to hinder his movement to the capital. Leclerc was to start at once, that night. Despite Gerow's wish, Leclerc waited until the morning of 23 August.

The eastward displacement to Paris occurred on two routes in conformance with Gerow's direction. The northern column, expected to be the main effort, consisted of the bulk of the French division in the lead, some American reconnaissance and engineer troops, and four firing battalions of the V Corps Artillery. The southern column had a French combat command, US reconnaissance elements, the V Corps headquarters, and Barton's 4th Infantry Division in that order of march. British troops failed to show up.

The force made good progress on 23 August, reaching points less than 20 miles from the capital by nightfall. There the heads of both columns met solid German opposition. Without consulting or telling Gerow, Leclerc changed his formation by transferring a combat command from the northern to the southern column. Probably he was trying to speed his advance. Perhaps he was favoring the commander of the southern group who was close to De Gaulle. Possibly he was reluctant to attack through Versailles. Maybe he was attracted to the wide Orleans-Paris highway. Was he displaying his resentment of American control in a matter he considered to be strictly French?

His decision was unfortunate in three respects. He inadvertently concentrated his force where the German defenses were the strongest and in the greatest depth. He put his southern column out of range of the V Corps Artillery. He impinged on the route reserved for the 4th US Infantry Division.

Leclerc's men attacked at dawn of 24 August. The northern column fought fiercely and gained about 15 miles. By evening the troops had reached the Pont de Sevres, a wide highway bridge across the Seine River and a principal entry into the city. The bridge was still intact, and a few tanks crossed into the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt. Paris proper was less than two miles away at the Porte de St. Cloud. But the men stayed where they were as enthusiastic civilians swarmed over them in eager welcome, pressing flowers, kisses, and wine on them.

The main effort in the south advanced about 13 miles with great difficulty. By nightfall, the head of the column was still about five miles from the closest entrance, the Porte d'Orleans. The Pantheon, the objective, was seven miles away. Notre Dame, the center of the capital, was eight miles distant.

The supposed expiration of the truce was very much on the minds of the Americans following French progress. To Bradley, who had taken unofficial charge of the operation, it was incredible that the French were making such little headway. They seemed to be procrastinating. They "stumbled reluctantly through a Gallic wall" Bradley later said, "as townfolk . . . slowed the French advance with wine and celebration." Gerow substantiated the impression. The German opposition appeared to be slight, Leclerc's attack halfhearted.

Hoping to shame the French into greater effort, Gerow asked Bradley whether he could order the 4th US Division into the city. An angry Bradley wondered how long after the truce Choltitz would wait for regular troops before destroying the capital. Bradley could hardly let the French "dance their way to Paris." He told Gerow, "To hell with prestige. Tell the 4th to slam on in and take the liberation." Precedence in favor of the French, Gerow informed Barton and Leclerc, no longer applied.

This information prompted Leclerc to make one more attempt that night. It was impossible for him to order the northern column to continue beyond the Sevres bridge because, as the French reported, "liaison between the columns for all practical purposes no longer exists." Leclerc's mistake or oversight was perhaps due to inexperience.

So Leclerc, who was with the main effort in the south, sent a small detachment of tanks and half-tracks forward. This force rolled along side roads and back streets, crossed the Seine River by the Pont d'Austerlitz, drove along the quays on the right bank, and reached the Hotel de Ville, the city hall, just before midnight, 24 August.

The bells of nearby Notre Dame began to ring joyously. Another church took up the refrain. A third joined. Soon all the churches in Paris were pealing in celebration. A cascade of sound washed over the city.

Few Parisians had gone to bed that night. The telephones were functioning, and everyone knew of the Allied soldiers in the suburbs. The church bells could mean only that the liberators had arrived.

On the following morning, 25 August, the official day of liberation, enormous crowds of excited Parisians welcomed the 2d French Armored Division, which swept the western part of Paris, and the 4th US Infantry Division, which cleared the eastern part. Everywhere were joy, delight, tears of happiness. Unbounded elation took hold of Parisians and the French and the whole civilized world.

Most of the Germans had melted away during the night. Two thousand remained in the Bois de Boulogne, seven hundred more in Luxembourg Gardens. A few small and scattered groups awaited capture.

In the early afternoon of 25 August, under the arcades of the rue de Rivoli, a young French officer sprang into the Hotel Meurice. He burst into Choltitz's suite of rooms. To Choltitz, who sat at his desk, he shouted in his excitement, "Do you speak German?" Choltitz replied coolly. "Probably better than you." He allowed himself to be taken prisoner.

In the presence of Leclerc and the French Resistance commander in Paris, Choltitz signed a formal act of capitulation. Teams of French and German officers circulated copies to the Germans still in the city.

As for the internal political situation, the Gaullists proved to be better organized and disciplined than their opponents. Taking advantage of the uprising on 19 August, they had seized and occupied the seat of government. They held the buildings and the facilities and thus the means of political control.

On 26 August, De Gaulle wrote and thanked Eisenhower for letting Leclerc liberate Paris. With cheering crowds present, De Gaulle, Leclerc, and members of the Provisional Government walked from the Etoile, now named the Place du General de Gaulle, down the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde. De Gaulle then proceeded to the Cathedral of Notre Dame where an overflow congregation celebrated a mass of thanksgiving.

When Hitler learned that Allied troops were in Paris, he asked whether the capital was burning. "Brennt Paris?" Enraged by the negative response, he ordered artillery, V-weapons, and planes to destroy the city. His military commanders were busy with other matters. Getting their forces back to Germany, rearming the Siegfried Line, and preparing to keep the Allies out of their homeland were their priorities.

To make clear the participation of Allied troops in the liberation, Eisenhower marched the 28th US Infantry Division through the city to the front on 29 August. Eisenhower, Bradley, Gerow, De Gaulle, and Leclerc reviewed the parade. Eisenhower had invited Montgomery to attend, but he said he was too busy to come.

After a week of maintaining order in Paris, Leclerc took his men to the eastern part of France. There he rejoined Haislip's XV Corps. Leclerc had changed his opinion of American competence, he had learned to run his division effectively, and he gained great respect from his American commanders in the ensuing campaigns.

Gerow, the senior military commander in Paris, had sought to exercise control, but the French blocked his efforts. They immediately took over civil affairs without checking with Gerow as a matter of courtesy. Several days later, when Gerow formally turned the area over to them, they flatly said, "French authorities alone have handled the administration of the city of Paris since its liberation." They avoided giving the slightest sign of admitting their dependence on the Americans.

To the French, the Americans spoiled the occasion by intruding. The Americans felt their participation was small repayment for the dead soldiers lost between the Normandy beaches and the gates of the capital. They expected gratitude, but instead garnered resentment. Eisenhower was charitable. "We shouldn't blame them," he later wrote, "for being a bit hysterical."

The British refrained from taking part. Perhaps they regarded the event as a French affair. More likely, they were aware of anti-British feeling among the French, the result mainly of their destruction of the French fleet in 1940.

Eisenhower's reinforcement contributed to a legend which emerged immediately after the liberation and endured for many years. The 2d French Armored Division and the French Resistance, the story went, had, together and without outside help, expelled the Germans from the city.

This belief has changed over the past half-century. As the French commemorated and celebrated the arrival of Allied forces over the Normandy beaches on D-Day, they gradually became aware of the Allied role in liberating their country. They eventually acknowledged the American presence in freeing their capital. Only good friends like the Americans, the French have now decided, could share the privilege, the splendid moment. It was all right for the Americans to be there.

Additional Sources:

www.expage.com
www.jewishgen.org
teachpol.tcnj.edu
www.graham.day.dsl.pipex.com
histoireenprimaire.free.fr
www.paris.org

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!
On this Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on April 20:
0121 Marcus Aurelius 16th Roman emperor (161-80), philosopher
1442 Edward IV King (England, 1461-83)
1494 John Agricola [Schneider] German theologist/prime minister
1592 John Eliot St Germans Cornwall, English MP/author
1594 Matthaus Apelles von Lowenstern composer
1705 Balthasar Schmid composer
1725 Johann Friedrich Kloffler composer
1726 Jozef de Ferraris French/Austrian earl/General/cartographer
1745 Philippe Pinel physician, founder of psychiatry
1748 Georg Michael Telemann composer
1748 Guillaume Albert Teniers composer
1761 Johann Gottlieb Karl Spazier composer
1808 Louis-Napoleon [Napoleon III] emperor of France (1852-71)
1809 John Smith Preston Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1881
1824 Alfred Holt Colquitt Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1894
1826 Dina M Craik writer
1827 John Gibbon Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1896
1839 Carol I King of Romania (1881-1914)
1840 Odilon Redon French painter/author (La nuit, Rêves)
1850 Daniel Chester French/American sculptor (The Minute Man)
1857 Charles LP "Philip" Zilcken painter/author (HW Knife Day)
1857 Hermann Bang writer
1858 Auguste Chapuis composer
1860 Charles Gordon Curtis US attorney/inventor (Curtis Turbine)
1860 Pieter Jelles Troelstra Dutch MP (SDAP)
1865 Max HHR Nettlau Austrian historian (Le Première Internationale)
1866 Victor Hollaender composer
1870 Simeon Roncal composer
1871 William Henry Davies Wales, poet (Autobiography of a Super Tramp)
1876 Gerard J Arbous actor/publicist (Prince William of Orange)
1879 Robert Lynd Irish writer/critic (Pleasures of Ignorance)
1881 Nikolai Miaskovsky Novogeorievsk Poland, composer (Kirov is With Us)
1881 Sem Dresden composer/conductor
1889 Adolf Hitler Braunau Austria, dictator of Nazi Germany (1936-45)
1890 Adolf Schärf President of Austria (1957-65)
1893 Harold Lloyd Burchard NE, silent comic (Why Worry, Safety Last)
1893 Joan Miró Spain, painter/sculptor (Dog Barking at the Moon)
1893 Hermann Ungar writer
1894 Martinus Nijhoff poet/interpreter/linguistic (spelling)
1896 Senor Wences ventriloquist (Close the Door)
1897 Bernard Verhoeven poet/literature (About the Laugh)
1897 Gregory Ratoff Petrograd Russia, actor/director (Corsican Brothers)
1900 Fred Raymond composer
1900 Kees Verwey painter/water colors painter/cartoonist
1901 Michel Leiris French cultural anthropologist
1902 Donald Wolfit England, actor (Lawrence of Arabia, Becket, Accursed)
1902 Vesselin Stoyanov composer
1903 Dagmar Edqvist Swedish author (Kamrathustru-Wife & Comrade)
1904 Bruce Cabot Carlsbad NM, actor (Diamonds are Forever, King Kong)
1907 William Dollar St Louis, ballet dancer/choreographer
1907 Alan Reed actor/voice (Fred Allen Show, Fred Flintstone)
1907 Miran Bux cricketer (his one season of Test & 1st-class play 1954-55)
1908 Wilhelmus M Bekkers bishop of Hertogenbosch
1909 Guido Alberti literary patron/businessman
1909 Lionel Hampton orchestra leader/vibraphone improviser (Depths Below)
1909 Richard Stubbs publicity adviser
1911 Kukrit Pramoj politician
1912 David Townsend cricketer (3 Tests England vs West Indies 1935)
1912 Ed Jones (Representative-Democrat-TN, 1969- )
1912 Frederick Craig Riddle violist
1912 Soewarsil Djojopoespito Indonesia, writer (Toe the Line)
1913 Dick Wessel Wisconsin, actor (Dick Tracy vs Cueball, Beware of Blondie)
1920 John Paul Stevens Chicago IL, 103rd Supreme Court Justice (1975- )
1921 Donald Gunn MacRae sociologist
1923 Tito Puente Puerto Rico, bandleader (Dance Mania)
1924 Nina Foch Leiden Netherlands, actress (American in Paris)
1924 Gerhard Samuel composer
1924 Paul M Van Buren US theologist (Theological Explorations)
1925 Ernie Stautner NFL defensive tackle (Pittsburgh Steelers)/WLAF head coach (Frankfurt Galaxy)
1925 Richard Hoffmann composer
1926 Harriett Elizabeth Byrd politician (Wyoming House of Representatives)
1927 Karl Müller Switzerland, superconductivity physicist (Nobel 1987)
1929 Bob Braun Ludlow KY, singer (Dotty Mack Show)
1930 Alan Oakman cricketer (England batsman against Australia 1956)
1931 Lee H Hamilton Daytona Beach FL, (Representative-Democrat-IN, 1965- )
1934 Lindsay Oliver John Boynton furniture historian
1936 Pat Roberts (Representative-Republican-KS, 1981- )
1938 Bernard Malivoire France, cox pair (Olympics-gold-1952)
1938 Betty Cuthbert Australia 100 meter/200 meter/400 meter dash (Olympics-gold-1956, 64)
1938 Johnny Tillotson Jacksonville FL, singer (Gidget, Poetry in Motion)
1939 Gro Harlem Brundtland Norwegian premier (1981-82, 86-89, 90- )
1940 George Takei Los Angeles CA, actor (Sulu-Star Trek, Green Berets)
1940 James Gammon Newman IL, actor (Cool Hand Luke, Nick-Nash Bridges)
1940 Jan Cremer Dutch writer/sculptor (I, John Cremer)
1940 Pilar Miro director (Wether, Beltenebros)
1941 Joni Evans New York NY, publisher (Simon & Schuster, Random House)
1941 Ryan O'Neal Los Angeles CA, actor (Peyton Place, Paper Moon, Love Story)
1943 Michael Greer Galesburg IL, actor (Bobby Gentry Show)
1943 Edie Sedgwick Santa Barbara CA, actor (Ciao Manhattan)
1943 Ian Watson UK, sci-fi author (Book of Being, Whores of Babylon)
1945 Jimmy Winston London England, organist (Small Facres-Itchycoo Park)
1947 David Leland Cambridge England, actor/director (Nothing But Trouble)
1948 Craig Frost keyboardist (Grand Funk Railroad-Some Kind of Wonderful)
1949 Jessica Lange Cloquet MN, actress (King Kong, Tootsie)
1949 Michal Israel, rocker (Sky with Stars)
1950 Itumeleng J Mosala South Africa President (Azanian People's Organization)
1951 Luther Vandross Bronx NY, rock vocalist (Here and Now, Never Too Much)
1951 Geraint Wyn Davies Wales, actor (Bury Me in Niagara, High Hopes)
1952 Tamara Sergeyevna Zakharova Russian cosmonaut
1952 Toine van Benthem dentist/playwright/cabaret performer (Purper)
1954 Peter Toohey cricketer (New South Wales & Australian batsman 1977-80)
1955 Donald R Pettit Silverton OR, PhD/astronaut
1957 Graeme Fowler cricketer (England left-handed opener early 80s)
1957 Richenel [Hubertus R Baars] singer/performer (Dance Around The World)
1958 Viacheslav Fetisov Moscow, NHL defenseman (Team Russia, Detroit)
1959 Clint Howard Burbank CA, actor (Gentle Ben)
1960 Rodney Holman NFL tight end (Detroit Lions)
1961 Don "Hitman" Mattingly Evansville IN, New York Yankee 1st baseman (MVP 1985)
1961 Marci Bozarth Lampasas TX, LPGA golfer (1994 Lady Keystone Open-37th)
1963 Brett Edward Garsed Victoria Australia, heavy metal artist (Nelson)
1963 Kal Swan heavy metal rocker
1964 John Carney NFL kicker (San Diego Chargers)
1964 Paul Nobes cricketer (prolific opening batsman for Victoria & SA)
1965 Jim Terrell Cincinnati OH, sprint canoe (Olympics-96)
1967 J D Roth Beverly Hills CA, TV host (Fun House)
1967 Lara Jill Miller Allentown PA, actress (Samantha-Gimme a Break)
1967 Miroslav Stefanovic soccer player (FC Volendam)
1967 Townsend Saunders White Sands NM, freestyle wrestler (Olympics-silver-92, 96)
1968 LeShundra Nathan Birmingham AL, heptathlete
1969 John van Halst soccer player (FC Twente)
1969 Takayuki Kobori hockey defenseman (Team Japan 1998)
1970 Ben Weir Rock Island IL, Canadian Tour golfer (1993 Bogey Hills-2nd)
1970 Shemar Moore Oakland CA, actor (Malcolm-Young & Restless)
1971 Chris Penn NFL wide receiver (Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears)
1971 Grant Smith Australian field hockey forward (Olympics-96)
1971 John Senden Brisbane Queensland, Australasia golfer
1971 Terry Smith NFL wide receiver (Indianapolis Colts)
1971 Yonel Jourdain NFL running back/kick returner (Buffalo Bills)
1973 Itula Mili tight end (Seattle Seahawks)
1973 Lamond Murray NBA forward (Los Angeles Clippers)
1973 Todd Hollandsworth Dayton OH, outfielder (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1974 Ben[jamin] Lincoln Holbrook Hartland WI, rower (Olympics-1996)
1974 Kevin Sullivan Brantford Ontario Canada, 1.5k runner (Olympics-96)
1974 Paul Bradford cornerback (San Diego Chargers)
1975 Joey [Joseph Mignogna Jr] Lawrence Philadelphia PA, actor (Brotherly Love, Joey-Gimme a Break, Blossom)
1976 Lenka Nemeckova Brno Czechoslovakia, tennis star (1993 Futures-Maribor-SLO)
1977 Lisa Ervin figure skater (US Nationals-4th-1992)

Deaths which occurred on April 20:
1164 Victor IV [Ottaviano Montecello] Italian antipope (1159-64), dies
1314 Clement V [Bertrand Got] pope (1305-14) move papacy to Avignon, dies
1317 Agnes van Montepulciano Italian mystic/saint, dies
1534 Elizabeth Barton [Nun of Kent] British prophet, is executed
1632 Nicolas Antione converted to Judiasm, burned at the stake
1643 Christoph Demantius composer, dies at 75
1662 Gerard Terborch the elder, painter, dies
1695 Georg Caspar Weckler composer, dies at 63
1759 Georg Friedrich Händel buried in Westminster Abbey
1768 Giovanni AC Canaletto Italian painter/cartoonist (Rialto), dies at 70
1769 Pontiac Indian chief to Ottawa, murdered
1786 John Goodricke English deaf & dumb astronomer, dies at 21
1812 George Clinton 4th US Vice President, dies at 73 1st Vice President to die in office
1820 Arthur Young author (Annals of Agriculture), dies
1821 Franz K Achard German physicist/chemist, dies at 67
1836 Johan I Jozef monarch of Liechtenstein/fieldmarshal, dies at 75
1839 Giuseppe Rossini father of Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini, dies
1869 Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe composer, dies at 72
1869 Piotr Studzinski composer, dies at 42
1872 Ljudwit Gaj Croatian writer/poet (Pjesma iz Zagorja), dies at 62
1899 Edouard Pailleron French attorney/comedian (voice où), dies at 64
1900 Mabel Mercer popular British singer, dies
1906 Australian wombat oldest known marsupial, dies in London Zoo at 26
1908 Henry Chadwick sports reporter (baseball), dies at 85
1912 Bram Stoker Irish theater manager/writer (Dracula), dies
1918 Reginald Harry Mybirgh Hands cricketer (1 Test for South Africa), dies
1932 Giuseppe Peano mathematician, dies
1935 Juliaan de Vriendt Flemish painter, dies at 92
1941 Barend ter Haar Dutch lawyer, dies in Buchenwald at 49
1947 Christian X King of Denmark (1912-47), dies at 76
1953 Erich Weinert writer, dies at 62
1956 Jaap Vranken organist/composer (Stabat mater), dies
1956 Lieven Duvosel Flemish music composer (Levensschets), dies at 78
1962 Jesse G Vincent engineer designed 1st V-12 engine, dies at 82
1962 Arthur Harmat composer, dies at 76
1965 Richard Wessell actor (Carney-Riverboat), dies of heart attack on 52nd birthday
1968 Marion Weeks singer/actress, dies of stroke at 81
1971 Cecil Parker actor (Court Jester, Operation Snafu), dies at 73
1973 Robert Armstrong actor (Fall Guy, Exposed), dies at 82
1974 Mohammed Ayub Khan premier/President (Pakistan), dies
1977 Bryan Foy director/writer, dies at 80
1977 Len Johnson cricketer (one Test for Australia, 3-66 & 3-8), dies
1979 Peter Donald host (Masquerade Party), dies at 60
1982 Andrew Sandham cricketer (325 England 1930, 879 runs in 14 Tests), dies
1982 Archibald MacLeish US, lawyer/writer (Conquistador), dies at 89
1982 Mimi Boesnach actress (Wedding of Kloris & Roses), dies at 82
1983 Jerzy Andrezjewski writer, dies
1984 Mabel Mercer English/US singer (Fly me to the moon), dies at 84
1990 Horst Sinderman RDA 1st minister (1973-76), dies
1991 Don[ald] Siegel US director (Coogan's Bluff/Dirty Harry), dies at 78
1991 Jumjaagiyn Tsedenbal Mongolian politician, dies
1991 Sean O'Faolain [J Whelan] Irish writer (Nest of Simple), dies at 91
1991 Steve Marriott English guitarist (Small Faces), dies in a fire at 44
1991 Yumzhagin Tsendenbal PM of Mongolia (1952-74), dies
1992 Benny [Alfred Hawthorn] Hill comedian (Benny Hill Show), dies of a heart attack at 67
1992 Johnny Shines Delta blues singer/guitarist, dies at 76
1993 Cantinflas [Mario Moreno] Mexican actor (Pepe), dies at 81
1994 Jean Carmet French actor (Merci la Vie, Le Sucre), dies at 72
1995 Milovan Djilas Yugoslavian politician (1945-54), dies
1995 R E S Wyatt cricketer (England captain 16 times), dies
1995 Sunil Jayasinghe Sri Lankan wicketkeeper (1979 World Cup), suicide
1995 Tessie O'Shea entertainer, dies at 81
1996 Cecilia Grace Hunt Reeves Gillie BBC Executive, dies at 88
1996 Christopher Robin Milne bookseller/son of writer A A Milne (Winnie the Pooh), dies at 75
1996 Tran Van Tra soldier, dies at 77

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 BUTLER PHILLIP N. TULSA OK.
02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98

1965 SHEA JAMES PATRICK BURLINGAME CA.
CRASH TARGET AREA / NO PARA

1966 ABBOTT JOHN SAN DIEGO CA.
DRV RETURNED REMAINS 03/13/74

1968 CESTARE JOSEPH ANGELO NEW YORK NY.

1968 WALKER WILLIAM J. RIVERSIDE CA.

1968 ZUTTERMAN JOSEPH A. JR. MARYSVILLE KS.

1970 MAHAN DOUGLAS F. COLUMBIA MO.
07/05/72 REMAINS RECOVERED

1972 AMOS THOMAS H. REPUBLIC MO.
REMAINS ID'D 11/03/99

1972 BURNHAM MASON I. PORTLAND OR .
REMAINS ID'D 11/03/99

1972 ELIAS EDWARD K.
09/28/72 RELEASED HANOI

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0027(?) Jesus of Nazareth raises of the dead..
0295 8th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
0850 Guntherus becomes bishop of Cologne
1139 2nd Lateran Council (10th ecumenical council) opens in Rome
1505 Jews are expelled from Orange Burgundy by Philibert of Luxembourg
1551 John Dudley becomes English Earl Marshal
1650 VOC-management sets new guidelines
1653 Cromwell routes English parliament to house
1657 Battle in Santa Cruz Bay, Tenerife English fleet under Robert Blake sinks Spanish silver fleet
1702 Comet C/1702 H1 approaches within 0.0437 astronomical units (AUs) of Earth
1715 Nicholas Rowe's "Tragedy of Lady Jane Gray", premieres in London
1770 Captain Cook arrives in New South Wales
1775 British begin siege of Boston
1777 New York adopts new constitution as an independent state
1792 France declares war on Austria, Prussia & Sardinia
1799 Friedrich von Schiller's "Wallensteins Tod", premieres in Weimar
1799 Napoleon issues a decree calling for establishing Jerusalem for Jews
1809 Napoleon I defeats Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria
1836 Territory of Wisconsin created
1841 1st detective story (Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue") published
1853 Harriet Tubman starts Underground Railroad
1861 Battle of Norfolk VA
1861 Colonel Robert E Lee resigns from Union army
1865 Chicago's Crosby Opera House opens
1871 3rd Enforcement Act (President can suspend writ of habeas corpus)
1872 San Francisco Bar Association organized
1879 1st mobile home (horse drawn) used in a journey from London & Cyprus
1884 Pope Leo XIII encyclical "On Freemasonry"
1894 136,000 mine workers strike in Ohio for pay increase
1896 1st public film showing in US John Philip Sousa's "El Capitán", premieres in NYC
1898 US Assay Office in Deadwood SD opens
1902 Marie & Pierre Curie isolate radioactive element radium
1903 7th Boston Marathon won by John Lorden of Massachusetts in 2:41:29.8
1903 New York Highlanders play their 1st game, with Jack Chesbro losing 3-1 to Al Orth & Washington Nationals
1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition opens in St Louis
1904 George Bernard Shaw's "Candida", premieres in London
1908 12th Boston Marathon won by Tom Morrissey of New York in 2:25:43.2
1910 Cleveland Indians Addie Joss 2nd no-hitter, beats Chicago, 1-0
1910 Halley's Comet passes 29th recorded perihelion at 87.9 million km
1912 Fenway Park officially opens, Boston Red Sox beat New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11
1912 Tiger Stadium in Detroit opens, Tigers beat Cleveland Indians 6-5
1914 33 killed by soldiers during mine strike in Ludlow CO
1914 18th Boston Marathon won by James Duffy of Canada in 2:25:01.2
1916 German-British sea battle off Belgian coast
1916 1st National League game at Weeghman Park (Wrigley Field) in Chicago opens, Chicago Cubs beat Cincinnati Reds 7-6
1917 Pravda (Lenin names Russia "Free land of world")
1919 Polish Army captures Vilno, Lithuania from Soviet Army
1920 Tornadoes kill 219 in Alabama & Mississippi
1920 7th modern Olympic games open in Antwerp Belgium
1920 Balfour Declaration recognized, makes Palestine a British Mandate
1920 Big Show ends 2 year run on NBC radio
1920 Phillies manager Gravvy Cravath puts himself in as pinch hitter, his 3-run homer and beats New York Giants 3-0
1925 29th Boston Marathon won by Charles Mellor of Illinois in 2:33:00.6
1926 1st check sent by radio facsimile transmission across the Atlantic
1931 35th Boston Marathon won by Jim Henigan of Massachusetts in 2:46:45.8
1931 British House of Commons agrees for sports play on Sunday
1934 Heinrich Himmler becomes inspector Prussian secret state police
1935 "You're Hit Parade" begins broadcasting (becomes #1 quickly)
1936 40th Boston Marathon won by Ellison Brown of Rhode Island in 2:33:40.8
1936 Jews repel an Arab attack in Petach Tikvah Palestine
1939 New York World's Fair opens
1939 Ted Williams' 1st hit (off of Yankee Red Ruffing) a double
1940 1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia PA
1941 100 German bombers attack Athens
1941 Dodgers start to wear liners in their caps
1942 German occupiers forbid Dutch access to their beach
1942 Heavy German assault on Malta
1943 Atlanta Braves manager Casey Stengel is struck by a taxi, fractures a leg
1944 NFL legalizes coaching from the bench
1944 Dutch Communist Party-resistance fighter John Postma sentence to death
1945 Soviet troops enter Berlin
1945 US 7th Army & allies forces capture Nuremberg & Stuttgart in Germany
1945 Cleveland Browns organization formed by Arthur "Mickey" McBride
1945 German occupiers flood Beemster & Fencer
1945 US forces conquer Motobu peninsula on Okinawa
1946 1st televised baseball broadcast in Chicago, St Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs
1946 50th Boston Marathon won by Stylianos Kyriakides of Greece in 2:29:27
1947 Frederik IX becomes King of Denmark
1948 UAW president Walter P Reuther shot & wounded at his home in Detroit
1948 NYC hikes subway fare from 5¢ to 10¢
1949 Jockey Bill Shoemaker wins his 1st race, in Albany CA
1950 Baltimore's Memorial Stadium opens - Orioles of International League
1951 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak Atoll
1951 Velsen city council demands investigation of police collaborators
1953 57th Boston Marathon won by Keizo Yamada of Japan in 2:18:51
1954 "Golden Apple" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 125 performances
1955 "Saint of Bleecker St" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 92 performances
1957 Yankee Bill Skowron becomes 3rd player to hit a ball out of Fenway Park
1957 61st Boston Marathon won by John J Kelley of Connecticut in 2:20:05
1958 Buses replace Key System trains in San Francisco area at 3 AM
1958 Montréal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins 4 games to 2 for the Stanley Cup
1958 Louise Suggs wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open
1958 Morocco demands departure of Spanish troops
1959 63rd Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:22:42
1960 "From A to Z" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 21 performances
1961 American Harold Graham makes 1st rocket belt flight
1962 NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes X-15 to an altitude of 63,250 meters
1962 New Orleans Citizens Company gives free 1-way ride to blacks to move North
1962 OAS-leader ex-General Salan arrested in Algiers
1963 "Sophie" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 8 performances
1963 All Africa Conferences of Churches opens in Kampala Uganda
1964 86% of black students boycott Cleveland schools
1964 68th Boston Marathon won by Aurele Vandendriessche of Belgium in 2:19:59
1965 People's Republic China offers North Vietnam military aid
1966 WDCA TV channel 20 in Washington DC (IND) begins broadcasting
1967 US planes bomb Haiphong for 1st time during the Vietnam War
1967 US Surveyor 3 lands on Moon
1967 French author Régis Debray caught in Bolivia
1967 New York Mets' Tom Seaver's 1st victory, beats Chicago Cubs, 6-1
1967 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1968 Pierre Elliott Trudeau sworn-in as Canada's PM
1968 South African Airways Boeing 707 crashes at Windhoek, 122 killed
1969 23rd Tony Awards Great White Hope & 1776 win
1969 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Lady Carling Golf Open
1970 74th Boston Marathon won by Ron Hill of Great Britain in 2:10:30 (new US marathon record)
1970 Bruno Kreisky becomes 1st socialist chancellor of Austria
1971 Barbra Streisand records "We've Only Just Begun"
1971 US Supreme Court upholds use of busing to achieve racial desegregation
1972 Apollo 16's Young & Duke land on Moon with Boeing Lunar Rover #2
1972 Kallicharran scores his 2nd Test century in his 2nd Test Cricket
1973 Canadian ANIK A2 becomes 1st commercial satellite in orbit
1974 Paul McCartney releases "Band on the Run"
1975 Penguins 1-Islanders 3-Quarterfinals-Penguins hold 3-1 lead
1975 29th Tony Awards Equus & The Wiz win
1975 4th Colgate Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Sandra Palmer
1976 George Harrison sings the lumberjack song with Monty Python
1977 Supreme Court rules "Live Free or Die" may be covered on New Hampshire licenses
1977 Woody Allen's film "Annie Hall" premieres
1980 Cubans begin to arrive in US from Mariel boatlift
1980 Donna White wins LPGA Florida "Lady Citrus" Golf Tournament
1981 Final performance of TV show "Soap" airs
1981 Rocker Papa John Phillips arrested for drug possession
1981 10th Boston Women's Marathon won by Allison Roe of New Zealand in 2:26:46
1981 85th Boston Marathon won by Toshihiko Seko of Japan in 2:09:26
1982 Atlanta Braves become 1st team to win 1st 12 games of the season
1983 Rangers 2-Islanders 7-Patrick Division Finals-Islanders hold 3-2 lead
1983 Soyuz T-8 launched; mission aborted when capsule fails to dock
1983 President Ronald Reagan signs a $165 billion bail-out for Social Security
1984 Russian offensive in Panshirvallei Afghánistán
1985 Karyn Marshall of New York NY lifted 303 lbs in a clean-and-jerk lift
1985 Carlos Lopes runs world record marathon (2:07:12)
1985 Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Mark Williams
1986 Michael Jrdan sets NBA playoff record with 63 points in a game
1986 Vladimir Horowitz performs in his Russian homeland
1986 "Jerry's Girls" closes at St James Theater NYC after 139 performances
1986 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1987 16th Boston Women's Marathon won by Rosa Mota of Portugal in 2:25:21
1987 91st Boston Marathon won by Toshihiko Seko of Japan in 2:11:50
1987 Sri Lanka Tamils shoot 122 Singalezen dead
1987 US deports Karl Linnas, charged with nazi war crimes, to USSR
1988 Baltimore Orioles set worst record to start a season 0-14 (will go 0-21)
1988 New Jersey Devils 1st playoff hat trick-Eric Broten
1988 New York Yankees homerun 9,999 (Dave Winfield) 10,000 (Claudell Washington) 10,001 (Jack Clark)
1988 US accuses Renamo of killing 100,000 Mozambiquians
1990 8 2/3 inning perfect game pitched by Brian Holman of the Oakland A's is spoiled by a home run hit by Ken Philips
1990 Pete Rose pleads guilty to hiding $300,000 in income
1991 Raghib "Rocket" Ismael signs with Toronto Argonauts for $26.2 million
1991 "Les Miserables", opens at Odense Teater, Odense
1991 1st non stop flight Schiphol-Flamingo airport Bonaire
1991 Mark Lenzi is 1st diver to score 100 points on a dive (101.85)
1992 100th episode of "Murphy Brown" airs
1992 Expo '92 opens in Seville Spain
1992 21st Boston Women's Marathon won by Olga Markova of Russia in 2:23:43
1992 96th Boston Marathon won by Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya in 2:08:14
1992 All star concert in memory of Freddie Mercury held at Wembley Stadium London
1992 Joan Lunden breaks her left shoulder after being thrown from a horse
1992 Madonna signs $60-million deal with Time Warner
1993 Uranus passes Neptune (this occurs once every 171 years)
1994 Danny Harold Rolling, sentenced to death in Florida, for killing 5
1994 Serbian army bombs hospital in Goradze Bosnia, 47 killed
1994 Sohail & Inzamam make world record ODI partnership of 263
1994 Space shuttle STS-59 (Endeavour 6), lands
1996 Chicago Bulls win record 72 games in a season
1997 1st baseball game in Hawaii, St Louis Cardinals beat San Diego Padres in doubleheader
1997 27th Easter Seal Telethon raises $47,392,682
1997 58th PGA Seniors Golf Championship Hale Irwin
1997 Chicago Cubs beat New York Mets ending National League worst opening, lost 14 straight games
1997 DL Coburn's "Gin Game", opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 144 performances
1997 Karrie Webb wins LPGA Susan G Komen International
1997 Mark McGwire, is 4th to homerun on Detroit Tiger left field roof (others are Frank Howard, Harmon Killibrew, & Cecil Fielder)
1997 Nick Price wins golf MCI Classic
1997 Noël Coward's "Present Laughter", closes at Walter Kerr Theater NYC
1997 PGA Seniors Championship; Hale Irwin wins
1999 Deadliest school shooting in US history at Columbine High School, Littleton CO, 13 killed, 23 wounded

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Massachusetts, Maine : Patriots Day-Boston Marathon run (1775) - - - - - ( Monday )

Religious Observances

Religious History
1441 During the Council of Florence (1438-45), Eugenius IV issued the bull "Etsi non dubitemus," which asserted the superiority of the pope over the Councils.
1718 Birth of David Brainerd, colonial American missionary to the Indians of New England. Following his premature death from tuberculosis at 29, Brainerd's journal (published in 1649 by the Jonathan Edwards) influenced hundreds to become missionaries after him.
1826 Birth of Erastus Johnson, American hymnwriter. A lifelong student of the Bible, Johnson, at age 47, penned the hymn, "O Sometimes the Shadows are Deep" (a.k.a. "The Rock That Is Higher Than I").
1943 In Poland, Germans Nazi troops massacred the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
1987 In Columbus, OH, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was organized, making it the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. It represented the merger of three smaller Lutheran bodies, and was officially born on Jan 1, 1988.

Thought for the day :
"Freedom has a thousand charms to show, that slaves, however content, will never know."