This Day in History

On April 10, 1998, the Northern Ireland peace talks concluded as negotiators signed the Good Friday Agreement, a landmark settlement to end 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks.

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In 1815, Indonesia's Mount Tambora exploded in the biggest known volcanic eruption in 1,000 years, one that altered global weather. About 92,000 people are thought to have died, including 82,000 who perished of starvation and disease and 10,000 killed by its direct impact.

In 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was founded in New York by Henry Bergh.

In 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton, England, bound for New York on its ill-fated maiden voyage.

In 1919, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata was assassinated by forces loyal to President Venustiano Carranza.

In 1963, the nuclear submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) sank during deep-diving tests east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, killing all 129 aboard.

In 1971, the U.S. table tennis team arrived in China at the invitation of the communist government for a goodwill visit that came to be known as "ping-pong diplomacy."

In 2010, a plane crashed on approach in dense fog to the Smolensk airport in Russia, killing Polish President Lech Kaczynski, the first lady and 94 other government and armed forces figures as well as many prominent Poles.

In 2019, scientists released the first image ever made of a black hole, revealing a fiery, doughnut-shape object in a galaxy 55 million light-years from earth.

In 2023, a Louisville bank employee armed with a rifle opened fire at his workplace, killing five people while livestreaming the attack on Instagram. Police arrived as shots were still being fired inside Old National Bank and killed the shooter in an exchange of gunfire.

Today's Birthdays: Labor leader-activist Dolores Huerta is 96. Football Hall of Famer Mel Blount is 78. Author Anne Lamott is 72. Singer-producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds is 67. Musician Brian Setzer is 67. Singer Kenny Lattimore is 56. Rapper-producer Q-Tip (A Tribe Called Quest) is 56. Singer Shemekia Copeland is 47. Actor Charlie Hunnam is 46. Actor-singer Mandy Moore is 42. Actor Haley Joel Osment is 38. Country singer Maren Morris is 36. Actor-singer AJ Michalka (mish-AL'-kah) is 35. Actor Daisy Ridley is 34. Singer-actor Sofia Carson is 33.