Good morning, it’s Sunday, April 13, the 104th day of 2008. There are 262 days left in the year. The morning will be cool, but look for highs in the lower 70s under a sunny sky by this afternoon.
Fifty years ago today, Texan Van Cliburn, then 23, won the prestigious first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War. He returned triumphantly to a New York ticker tape parade; the only one ever given a classical musician. A Time magazine cover proclaimed him "The Texan Who Conquered Russia." A half century later Cliburn, 73, who lives in Fort Worth, is still considered an icon.
By the time he entered the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 at age 23, Cliburn, a native of Kilgore, was already an accomplished pianist. He started taking piano lessons from his mother at age 3 and debuted with the Houston Symphony Orchestra at 12. He studied at Juilliard, won the famed Leventritt Competition and performed with several orchestras across the country including the New York Philharmonic.
This month’s photo:
Easily the most popular picture of 2007. A once in a lifetime shot of bluebonnets in snow during the Easter holiday. The photo was taken by Kristy Ballard and was selected for the 2008 News 10 Weather Authority Calendar.Click here for information about the 2008 News 10 Weather Authority Calendar.
What’s Going On Today
Click Here To Check The Community Calendar For Today’s Events In Central Texas
Today's Highlight in History:
On April 13, 1958, American pianist Van Cliburn, 23, won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
On This Date:
In 1598, King Henry IV of France endorsed the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to the Protestant Huguenots. (The edict was abrogated in 1685 by King Louis the 14th, who declared France entirely Catholic again.)
In 1742, Handel's "Messiah" was first performed publicly, in Dublin, Ireland.
In 1743, the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was born in Shadwell, Virginia.
In 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York. (The original museum opened in 1872.)
In 1943, President Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial.
In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first black performer in a leading role to win an Academy Award, for "Lilies of the Field."
In 1965, 16-year-old Lawrence Wallace Bradford, Jr. was appointed by New York Republican Jacob Javits to be the first black page of the U.S. Senate.
In 1970, Apollo 13, four-fifths of the way to the moon, was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. (The astronauts managed to return safely.)
In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the Great Synagogue of Rome in the first recorded papal visit of its kind to a Jewish house of worship.
In 1992, the Great Chicago Flood took place as the city's century-old tunnel system and adjacent basements filled with water from the Chicago River.
Ten years ago:
NationsBank and BankAmerica announced a merger, which created Bank of America, while Banc One and First Chicago NBD said they would unite. A 500-pound steel joint fell from the upper
level of New York's Yankee Stadium, crashing onto seats below (no fans were inside the park at the time).
Five years ago:
U.S.-led forces announced the capture of Watban Ibrahim Hasan, a half-brother of and adviser to Saddam Hussein. After three weeks of captivity, seven U.S. POWs, including Army Specialist Shoshana Johnson, were released by Iraqi troops near Tikrit, Iraq. Mike Weir became the first Canadian to win the Masters after the first sudden-death playoff in 13 years.
One year ago:
Iraq's parliament met in an extraordinary session on a Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, and declared it would not bow to terrorism; a bouquet of red roses and a white lily sat in the place of a lawmaker killed in a parliament dining hall suicide bombing.
Today's Birthdays:
Movie director Stanley Donen is 84. Former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Republican, Colorado) is 75. Actor Lyle Waggoner is 73. Actor Edward Fox is 71. Playwright Lanford Wilson is 71. Actor Paul Sorvino is 69. Movie and TV composer Bill Conti is 66. Rock musician Jack Casady is 64. Actor Tony Dow is 63. Singer Al Green is 62. Actor Ron Perlman is 58. Actor William Sadler is 58. Singer Peabo Bryson is 57. "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" bandleader/rock musician Max Weinberg is 57. Bluegrass singer-musician Sam Bush is 56. Rock musician Jimmy Destri (Blondie) is 54. Singer-musician Louis Johnson (The Brothers Johnson) is 53. Comedian Gary Kroeger is 51. Actress Saundra Santiago is 51. Rock musician Joey Mazzola (Sponge) is 47. Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is 45. Actress Page Hannah is 44. Actress-comedian Caroline Rhea (RAY) is 44. Rock musician Lisa Umbarger is 43. Rock musician Marc Ford is 42. Reggae singer Capleton is 41. Actor Ricky Schroder is 38. Singer Lou Bega is 33.
Actor-producer Glenn Howerton is 32. Actress Courtney Peldon is 27. Pop singer Nellie McKay is 26.
Thought for Today:
"I cannot give you the formula for success but I can give you the formula for failure -- which is: Try to please everybody." -- Herbert Bayard Swope, American journalist (1882-1958).
(Source: Associated Press)
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