April 15: Titanic Sinks

April 15: In 1912, on this date, the RMS Titanic, a magnificent passenger liner that was thought to be unsinkable, sank; just over 1500 people, including passengers William Augustus Spencer and Wycoff Vanderhoef, lost their lives.

April 14: Laura Keene

April 14: On this date in 1865, actress Laura Keene was on stage at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

April 12: John Brooks Henderson

April 12: On this date in 1913, John Brooks Henderson, who insisted on co-sponsoring the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery as a U.S. Senator from Missouri, and was never elected to office again, died.

April 8: Fred Ebb

April 7: Fred Ebb, lyricist of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb, who wrote “New York, New York,” Caberet, and Chicago, was born on this date in 1928.