The cover of the first edition.

The first copies of the classic vampire novel Dracula,
by Irish writer Bram Stoker, appeared on the shelfs in
London bookshops on this day in 1897. It has been
assigned to many literary genres including vampire
literature, horror fiction, gothic novel, and invasion
literature. Dracula has spawned numerous theatrical,
film, and television interpretations.

Abraham "Bram" Stoker
(November 8, 1847 – April 20, 1912)

SANDY KOZEL

William Shakespeare (April 23, 1564 – April 23, 1616)

James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998)

Ray was the alleged assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. April
4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was convicted on his       
forty-first birthday after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury     
trial. Had he been found guilty by jury trial, he would have      
been eligible for the death penalty.

Cesar Chavez (César Estrada Chávez)
(March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993)

Cesar Chavez was an American labor leader and civil rights
activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National
Farm Workers. Chavez died of unspecified natural causes
in San Luis, Arizona, in the home of a former farm worker
and longtime friend.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   
Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit his first major-league
home run on this day in 1954. He later became the home run
king.         
         
         

Henry Louis Aaron became 84 years old in February.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

Mark Twain was lauded as the "greatest humorist this country has produced",
and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature".

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) is 92 today.

The Queen celebrates two birthdays each year, her actual birthday on April
21 and her official birthday usually on the second Saturday in June. This
year that official birthday will fall on Saturday, June 9.

The musical "Annie" opened on Broadway on this day in 1977.

Opening night Curtain Call.

On this day in 1918, German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen,
"The Red Baron," was shot down and killed during World War I.

Some of the remains of Richthofen’s plane are inspected by British
officers and soldiers.

SANDY KOZEL

British Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) and Irish Taoiseach Bertie
Ahern sign the Good Friday Agreement (above). They reached a
peace accord on governing British ruled Northern Ireland on this
day in 1998. Britain’s direct rule was ended.

On this day in 1912, the Titanic set sail from Southampton, England
on it’s doomed voyage.

F. Scott Fitzgerald published "The Great Gatsby" for the first time on
this day in 1925.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in St. Paul, Minnesota.
(September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940)

Comedian Sam Kinison (above) was killed when a pickup truck ran
head-on into his car on a desert road between Los Angeles and Las Vegas on this day in 1992.

SANDY KOZEL

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at the age of 39 on this day
in 1968.

Ray was the accused assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King, JR. 

William Henry Harrison Sr. (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841)

William Harrison was the ninth president of the United States (1841). He
was the last president born before the American Revolution, and died
of pneumonia just 31 days into his term, thereby serving the shortest
tenure in United States presidential history. He was the first president
to die in office.

On this day in 1974, Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth’s major league
baseball home-run record with 714.

Maya Angelou (Marguerite Annie Johnson)
(April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014)

African-American poet and author Maya Angelou is known for her 1969 autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, as well as for her poem
"On the Pulse of Morning." She was mute for five years as the result of
trauma and, during this period, developed her lifelong love of literature.