Once Upon A Time – April 9 – 2012 – The Lion King Becomes Highest Grossing Broadway Show

1483 Edward V (aged 12) succeeds his father Edward IV as king of England. He is never crowned, and disappears presumed murdered, after incarceration in the Tower of London with his younger brother Richard (the “Princes in the Tower”)

1731 British mariner Robert Jenkins’ ear cut off by Spanish Guarde Costa in the Caribbean, later catalyst for war between Britain & Spain

1768 John Hancock refuses to allow two British customs agents to go below deck of his ship, considered by some to be the first act of physical resistance to British authority in the colonies

1865 Confederate General Robert E. Lee and 26,765 troops surrender at Appomattox Court House to US Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant ending the Civil War in North Virginia

1869 Hudson Bay Company cedes its territory to Canada

1992 John Major elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after his Conservative Party wins the most votes in British electoral history

2003 Baghdad falls to U.S. forces, ending the Invasion of Iraq, but resulting in widespread looting

Historical Events Today
Today in Film & TV
1976 “All the President’s Men”, directed by Alan J. Pakula, based on the non-fiction book by journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward detailing their Watergate investigation, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, is released

Today in Music
2012 “The Lion King” becomes highest grossing Broadway show after overtaking “The Phantom of the Opera”

Today in Sport
1959 13th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics sweep Minnesota Lakers in 4 games, first of Boston Celtics record 8 straight titles

1667
1st public art exhibition at the Palais-Royale in Paris

1974
San Diego Padres owner Ray Kroc, addresses fans “Ladies & gentlemen, I suffer with you I’ve never seen such stupid baseball playing in my life”