DAVID MELENDY

With the world anxiously watching, Apollo 13, a U.S. lunar
spacecraft that suffered a severe malfunction on its journey
to the moon, safely returned to Earth on April 17, 1970.

On April 11, the third manned lunar landing mission was
launched from Florida, carrying astronauts James A. Lovell,
John L. Swigert and Fred W. Haise.

Swigert reported to mission control on Earth, “Houston, we’ve
had a problem here,” and it was discovered that the normal
supply of oxygen, electricity, light and water had been disrupted.

Basketball giant Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dominated the NBA in the
1970s and ’80s with his signature sky hook. Led the L.A. Lakers
to five championships. He’s 78 years old today.

Adrien Brody has won the Academy Award for Best Actor
twice for his portrayal of Holocaust survivors: Polish pianist
Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski‘s war drama The
Pianist (2002) and Hungarian brutalist architect László Tóth
in Brady Corbet‘s period epic The Brutalist (2024).

The former made him the category’s youngest winner, at age
29. He has received several other accolades, including a
Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award with nominations
for three Primetime Emmy Awards.

2004

SANDY KOZEL

Loretta Lynn was a country music singer and
songwriter. In a career spanning six decades,
Lynn released multiple gold albums.
She had numerous hits.

Lynn received many awards and other accolades
for her groundbreaking role in country music,
including awards from both the Country Music
Association and Academy of Country Music.

Loretta Lynn (April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022)

    
SANDY KOZEL
   

Thomas Jefferson (April 13 April 2], 1743 – July 4, 1826)

Future President Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration
of Independence and the nation’s preeminent political theorist, 
was born on April 13, 1743.

He was the third president of the United States from 1801 to
1809 and the nation’s first U.S. secretary of state under
George Washington.