April 13 ...

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 XIV, who declared France entirely Catholic again.) In 1742 Handel's Messiah was first performed publicly, in Dublin, Ireland. In 1743 Thomas Jefferson was born in Albemarle County, VA. In 1852 F.W. Woolworth was born in Rodman, NY. In 1906 Irish playwright, novelist, and poet Samuel Beckett was born outside of Dublin. In 1943 President Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial. In 1954 all-time home run king Hank Aaron debuted with the Milwaukee Braves; the Braves lost to the Reds, 9-8. 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 US 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 1981 Washington Post reporter Janet Cooke received a Pulitzer Prize for her feature about an 8-year-old heroin addict named "Jimmy." Cooke relinquished the prize two days later after admitting she had fabricated the story. In 1986 Pope John Paul II visited a Rome synagogue in the first recorded papal visit of its kind. 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. In 1997 Tiger Woods became the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament at the age of 21. He also set two records when he finished at 18 under par and won by 12 strokes.