#Middlebury #MomentsInTime
On April 15, 1783, the Continental Congress of the United States officially ratifies a preliminary peace treaty with Great Britain. Five months later, the Treaty of Paris was signed, bringing an end to the Revolutionary War.- On April 9, 1859, a 23-year-old Missouri youth named Samuel Clemens receives his steamboat pilot’s license. Clemens is better known by the pseudonym “Mark Twain,” a boatman’s call noting that the river depth was two fathoms (12 feet) and safe for travel.
- On April 14, 1912, the luxury liner RMS Titanic, on its maiden voyage, fails to divert its course from an iceberg, ruptures its hull and begins to sink. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, some 1,500 were killed.
- On April 12, 1945, while on a vacation, President Franklin Roosevelt suffers a stroke and dies. FDR had been elected president four times and had served for more than 12 years, the only president ever to serve more than two terms.
- On April 11, 1951, President Harry Truman relieves the flamboyant and egotistical Gen. Douglas MacArthur of command of U.S. forces in Korea. The firing set off a brief uproar among the American public, and he returned home to a hero’s welcome.
- On April 10, 1963, the atomic submarine USS Thresher sinks in the North Atlantic during deep-diving tests, killing the entire 129 man crew. An investigation found that a silver-brazed joint in the engine room had caused a short in critical electrical systems.
- On April 13, 1970, disaster strikes 200,000 miles from Earth when oxygen tank No. 2 blows up on Apollo 13. Commander James Lovell reported to mission control on Earth: “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” Using dramatic and untested maneuvers, Apollo 13 touched down safely in the Pacific Ocean four days later.
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